Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Ohio State
Army Beats Ohio State, 14-9
March 13, 2011 | Baseball
Box Score
AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Army baseball team broke out of its offensive slump and snapped its nine-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon as the Black Knights defeated Ohio State, 14-9, in a slugfest.
Kevin McKague and J.T. Watkins, who both homered for Army, combined to go 6-for-10 with eight RBI and four runs scored. The Black Knights, who had scored just four runs in their last six games, exploded for a season-high 14 in this contest.
Ben Koenigsfeld, who was moved up to the second spot in the batting order, went 4-for-6 with three runs scored for Army, which defeated Ohio State for the first time in series history (1-5). Zach Price collected multiple hits for the Black Knights as well, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.
"To come out and swing the bats the way we did against some very good arms was exactly what we needed," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "We've been through a lot of adversity offensively, but we were able to bounce back with a very good effort against a quality team in Ohio State. Everyone contributed to today's performance, and the guys' ability to compete and stay focused during adverse situations speaks volumes about their toughness."
Army (2-10) got off to a fast start as the Black Knights scored four times in the top of the first inning. Price led off the frame with a walk and he moved to second on Koenigsfeld's single through the left side of the infield. Joey Henshaw hit a fly ball to shallow left field that was dropped by the Ohio State left fielder, loading the bases for McKague.
Army's senior cleanup hitter came through with a two-run single up the middle, scoring Price and Koenigsfeld. McKague and Henshaw took second and third base, respectively, after the OSU center fielder's throw home sailed over the catcher's head. Clint Moore grounded out to second to drive in Henshaw, and Watkins added a two-out RBI single to score McKague.
"Jumping out to the early lead gave us a lot of confidence," added Sottolano. "The first two innings set the tone for us offensively as we continued to hit throughout the entire game."
Ohio State (6-5) got two runs back in the bottom of the first inning to trim Army's lead to 4-2. The first two Buckeyes singled to put runners on first and second for Josh Dezse, who drove in OSU's first run with a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield. Black Knight starter Chris Rowley struck out Brian DeLucia to get the first out of the inning, but Matt Streng hit a sacrifice fly to plate the Buckeyes' second run. With runners on first and third, Rowley struck out Brad Hutton looking to end the inning and avoid any further damage.
The Black Knights' offensive explosion carried into the second inning as the Black Knights scored three more runs to establish a 7-2 advantage. Matt Carter began the uprising as he led off the frame by drawing a four-pitch walk. He moved to second on Price's sacrifice bunt and scored after the Ohio State shortstop committed an error following a Koenigsfeld single. Koenigsfeld scored Army's second run of the inning when Henshaw singled to center and the center fielder committed a two-base error. Henshaw, who moved to third base on the play, later scored on McKague's RBI single.
Ohio State closed the gap to 7-6 in the bottom of the second inning as the Buckeyes pushed across four runs. Joe Ciamacco singled to lead off the inning, moved to second base on Tyler Engle's single, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan Cypret's single. Dezse followed with a single to load the bases, and DeLucia drove Engle home with an RBI single. Streng and Hallberg both collected RBIs later in the inning as the Buckeyes fought back to within one run.
Ohio State starter Greg Greve (1-1) posted the first 1-2-3 inning of the day as he struck out the side in the top of the third inning. The Buckeyes then threatened to add to their run total in the bottom of the frame as Ciamacco and Greg Solomon both singled to start the inning. Both base runners were erased on an interesting play on the base paths. Rowley wheeled and picked Ciamacco off of second base and then retired Solomon as he was attempting to take second. The next two OSU batters reached base, but Rowley struck out Dezse swinging to end the inning.
Ohio State threatened again in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Buckeyes loaded the bases with two outs. John Buckley (1-0) came out of the Black Knights' bullpen and got Solomon to fly out to right field, effectively halting the scoring opportunity.
Army extended its lead to 9-6 in the top of the fifth inning as J.T. Watkins blasted a two-run home run over the fence in left-center field. Peterson, who was hit by a pitch with one out, scored ahead of Watkins.
Gunnar Carroll came on to start the bottom of the fifth and retired Ohio State in order for the first time all day. The freshman righty ended up throwing three innings and allowed three runs on four hits.
Ohio State manufactured a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 9-7. Streng reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second base on a passed ball, took third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch.
Army plated two runs in the top of the seventh to open up a four-run cushion (11-7). McKague started the rally as he led off the frame with a towering home run to left field. The Black Knights added a second run later in the inning as Watkins came through with an RBI single through a drawn-in infield, scoring Moore from third.
Ohio State came right back in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring twice make it 11-9. Engle began the inning with a single and moved to third base on Cypret's double. Engle then scored on Dezse's RBI ground out, and Cypret was driven home on DeLucia's run-scoring double.
The Black Knights tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning to push their lead to 13-9. Price led off the frame with a walk and moved to second base a single by Koenigsfeld. Henshaw drew a walk to load the bases and Price scored on a wild pitch. Sean McIlroy came on as a pinch-hitter and slapped an RBI single through the left side of the infield to plate Koenigsfeld from third.
Army added another run in the top of the ninth inning to cap the scoring. Watkins struck out to lead off the frame, but reached second base after the Ohio State catcher threw the ball down the right field line. Watkins advanced to third base on Carter's sacrifice bunt, and he scored on Price's single up the middle.
Ohio State made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with no outs. McKague, who came on in the eighth, was able to strike out the next three hitters to preserve the victory.
Cypret went 5-for-6 to lead the Buckeyes' 19-hit attack. DeLucia, Dezse and Engle each collected three hits apiece for Ohio State.
Greve was touched for nine runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. Rowley pitched 3.2 innings and gave up six runs on 14 hits during his outing.
"I give Chris Rowley a lot of credit," said Sottolano of his starter's performance. "Chris was victimized early by a lot of infield hits and high choppers that got through, but he kept his composure through some stressful situations and continued to throw strikes."
McKague pitched the final two innings and totaled four strikeouts.
"We knew it was going to come," said McKague of the team's offensive explostion. "We never felt like it wasn't going to happen. We knew it was going to take one game to breakout, and, sure enough, it was today. It takes a complete one through nine effort, and we saw that today. We executed hit-and-runs and moved guys over with bunts. Everybody contributed something today. It feels great to get this win."
"It felt good to get back on track today," added Watkins. "I think our team tends to get back on track during our trip to Florida. We get away from all of the distractions and just focus on playing baseball and coming together as a team. The entire team started swinging the bats better today," added Watkins. "I think a lot of the guys really stepped up today, and that will bode well for us moving forward."
Army will resume its spring break slate on Tuesday, March 15, when the Black Knights face Massachusetts at 3 p.m. The contest will be played in Lakeland, Fla.
Game Notes: Army improves to 1-5 all-time versus Ohio State ... Army had not scored 14 runs in a game since plating 14 versus Dayton in the 2010 season opener, a span of 55 games ... McKague's home run was his second of the season and 19th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on Army's all-time list ... J.T. Watkins' home run was the first of the season and fourth of his career ... Watkins matched his career high with three hits and four RBI ... Ben Koenigsfeld raised his batting average 97 points following today's performance ... Koenigsfeld matched his career high with four hits ... Koenigsfeld set a new career high with six at-bats ... Army equaled its season high with 14 hits ... Sean McIlroy is now batting .625 (5-for-8) as a pinch-hitter this season ... Ohio State committed six errors in the game ... as the road team for today's contest, Army wore its gray uniforms with black caps.
