COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three Bethune-Cookman players delivered two hits apiece Saturday afternoon, but it was homestanding Ohio State picking up the series-clinching victory by an 11-2 margin in non-conference baseball action inside Bill Davis Stadium.
Bethune-Cookman (11-17) got on the board first in the opening frame.
Junior catcher Michael Cruz delivered his Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) best 10th home run of the season with a two-out shot to straight-away center field, putting the visiting Wildcats on top, 1-0. Cruz, this week's Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, as named by Collegiate Baseball News, registered his first home run of the week.
However, it would be Ohio State (18-7-1) getting to B-CU starting pitcher Tyler Norris in the second inning, [plating five runs in the frame to put the Buckeyes on top for good.
The Wildcats brought a run back in the top of the third inning when freshman Danny Rodriguez plated second baseman Jameel Edney with a RBI single to left, bringing his team within a 5-2 margin.
The Buckeyes would counter in the bottom of the frame with two runs, eventually chasing Norris in his fastest exit of the season in just two innings of work.
B-CU relievers Juan Pizarro, Tyler Krull, Charles Eytel and Ivan Coutinho worked the final six innings on the hill. Eytel managed his longest stint of the campaign, tossing 3.1 innings and giving up just a single earned run on three hits, two walks and a season-best three strikeouts.
Buckeyes relief pitcher Daulton Mosbarger grabbed the win, working 2.2 frames, scattering a single hit and walking three against two strikeouts. He improved to 1-0 on the year, while B-CU's Norris fell to 3-2.
Ohio State starter Adam Niemeyer tossed 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out six batters against a single walk in the no-decision outing.
The B-CU offense was paced by three Wildcats each with two hits. That included Rodriguez, right fielder Nathan Bond and centerfielder Josten heron each going 2-for-4, respectively.
The three-game series concludes Sunday, April 3, back at Bill Davis Stadium at 1 p.m. B-CU senior right-hander Alex Seibold (1-3, 5.83 ERA) takes the mound against OSU's left-handed starter (John Havird (1-1, 3.89 ERA).
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