PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Indiana State was unable to keep pace with a quick Ohio State start on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamores fell to the Buckeyes at Centennial Park, 9-3.
 
The Sycamores (1-1) jumped ahead early on a Miguel Rivera RBI single in the top of the first, but the Buckeyes (2-0) responded with a three-run first inning highlighted by a two-run Hank Thomas triple in taking control of the ball game. ISU battled back with runs in both the second and fifth innings, but a trio of two-run frames by Ohio State put the game away in favor of the Buckeyes.
 
Josue Urdaneta paced the Sycamores with his first three-hit campaign of the season as the redshirt sophomore connected on singles in the first, fifth, and ninth innings. Jordan Schaffer added a double and two runs scored, while Mike Sears added his first double of the season in the loss.
 
Jack Parisi (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound for the Sycamores after going the first 4.2 innings and allowing eight hits and seven runs (six earned). Parisi struck out six in the game, but a bout of wildness led to three hits-batsmen in the game.
 
Raine Richter added 1.2 innings out of the bullpen, while Jose Cabrera and Matt Gauer combined to go the final 1.2 innings in shutout relief in the game.
 
Four Ohio State hitters put together multi-hit efforts paced by Thomas' 2-for-4 outing with a pair of RBI. Marcus Ernst added a triple among his two hits and drove in two RBI, while Trey Lipsey scored three times for the Buckeyes.
 
Ethan Hammerberg (1-0) was effective over his 1.2 innings in relief in picking up his first win of the season. Hammerberg faced two batters over the minimum and struck out three over the middle innings. Nate Haberthier took the no-decision in the start surrendering five hits and three runs (two earned) over 4.2 innings. Nate Karaffa went the final 2.0 innings to close out the contest.
 
How They Scored

• Indiana State struck in the top of the first inning as Miguel Rivera singled through the right side scoring Jordan Schaeffer with one out in the frame to put the Sycamores ahead 1-0.
• The Buckeyes responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning as Thomas brought home Ernst and Zach Dezenzo with a one-out triple to right field, before scoring on an error on Blanye Robinson's grounder to put OSU ahead 3-1.
• Mike Sears cut the Ohio State lead down to 3-2 in the top of the second as the redshirt junior led off the inning with a double, before coming around to score on a wild pitch.
• OSU's lead stretched to 5-2 in the fourth as Ernst tripled home Lipsey, while Kern's infield single brought home Ernst in the inning.
• The Sycamores plated their final run in the top of the fifth as the Sycamores took advantage of an Ohio State errant throw allowing Schaffer to score on Urdaneta's single to cut the lead to 5-3.
• The Buckeyes added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Drew Reckhart scored on a passed ball and Lipsey crossed the plate on Mitchell Okuley's single to put the score at 7-3.
• Ohio State's final two runs of the game came in the bottom of the seventh with Okuley singling home Reckhart, while Lipsey scored on Ernst's sacrifice fly to provide the final margin.

News & Notes

• Saturday's loss marks the second time Indiana State has fallen in the all-time series against the Buckeyes since the teams started playing in 2014. ISU took the first three games of the series, while OSU has won the last two including their 10-6 (10 inn.) win in 2020.
• It's back-to-back days with multi-hit games for Josue Urdaneta as the redshirt sophomore put together his fourth career three-hit game with the Sycamores. He has 15 career multi-hit games and leads the team with a .556 batting average (5-for-9) through two games.
• Jordan Schaffer became the first Sycamore to be hit by three pitches since Dominic Cusumano was plunked three times against Dallas Baptist back on May 30, 2021. Schaffer was hit in the first, second, and seventh innings in the loss.
• Schaffer's leadoff HBP extended his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games, while his leadoff double in the top of the fifth extended his hitting streak to 14 as well following the contest.
• Miguel Rivera's RBI single in the first inning extended his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games.
• Grant Magill saw his 12-game on-base streak snap after failing to reach base on Saturday afternoon.
• Isaiah Thompson and Jackson Taylor both made their Sycamore debuts for the season on Saturday afternoon as the duo both entered the game as pinch-runners.
• Both pitching staffs struggled to control the baseball on Saturday with the teams combining for eight HBPs with each starting pitcher responsible for three apiece.
• The Sycamores and Buckeyes will faceoff one final time in Port Charlotte as the teams are scheduled to play tomorrow afternoon with first pitch at 3:30 p.m.

Up Next
Indiana State is back in Port Charlotte, Fla. tomorrow morning as the Sycamores are scheduled to be the home team against Marshall University on Field C9 at Centennial Park with first pitch set for 11:30 a.m. ET. The Sycamores will then take on Ohio State on field C10 with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.
 
Both games are scheduled to be streamed live via FloBaseball ($). Live stats will also be provided via GoSycamores.com.
 
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