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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Morehead State baseball team was shut out for the just the second time in the last 50 games Wednesday night as the Ohio State Buckeyes handed the Eagles a 7-0 defeat at Bill Davis Stadium.
OSU improved to 28-10 overall and 17-4 at home, while Morehead State fell to 25-16. The Eagles, who have still claimed 14 of their last 17 games, were limited to five hits by four Buckeye pitchers. MSU has only been blanked now twice this season.
"Ohio State has good arms, and they shut us down tonight," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "The scoreboard wouldn't indicate it, but I thought our at-bats were more competitive in this game. I thought we hit several balls on the button and didn't have much to show for them. I didn't think Ohio State got the barrel on a ball until the fourth inning, but they were already ahead 3-0 at that point."
Leftfielder Ronnie Dawson delivered an RBI single in the first frame, and shortstop Craig Nennig drove home a pair in the fourth on a double. The hosts scored their final four runs in the fifth on a two-run single and a two-run two-bagger.
Jacob Niggemeyer tossed 5.2 innings, walked three and struck out three to improve to 3-0. Junior right-hander Patrick McGuff was tagged with the loss to fall to 1-1. He surrendered 11 hits and all seven runs in a 4.2-inning appearance. Just four of the runs were earned.
Junior righty Matt Anderson, sophomore southpaw Cable Wright and senior righty Ryan Vansaghi combined to hold the hosts scoreless and hitless for the final 3.1 innings. Wright made his team-best 24
th appearance as he chases the MSU season record of 28. Vansaghi made his first appearance of 2015.
OSU designated hitter Tre' Gantt compiled a 3-for-4 night, while first baseman Connor Sabanosh had two hits.
Freshman infielder Evan Warden was 2-for-3, while senior leftfielder Nick Newell and senior catcher Chris Robinson had hits as well. Newell now leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 65 hits.
"We didn't swing the bats like we have been or are capable of, but I thought we performed better than what the stat sheet indicates," McGuire added. "You have to make plays, get timely hits and catch some breaks against good clubs. We didn't do much in any of those areas this evening, and that's why we lost the way we did."
Morehead State remains on the road this weekend for a three-game league set at Austin Peay. The series opener is slated for 7 p.m. ET Friday. Michael Gustin will provide free live audio of each game on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.
"There's a lot at stake this weekend at Austin Peay," McGuire said. "I don't expect us to have any lingering effects from these last two contests. We know where we are in the standings and what we're playing for in the final month of the regular season. Our bullpen is pretty fresh, and our team should be ready to go on Friday."
