University of Minnesota Athletics
Ohio State Downs Northwestern 5-2 in Tournament Semifinal
5/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Behind a complete game pitching performance by senior E.J. Laratta and clutch home runs by Doug Dendinger and Terry Pettorini, Ohio State knocked off previously undefeated Northwestern in a twilight winner's bracket-contest, 5-2, on day three of the 2002 Big Ten Baseball Tournament. Laratta was simply brilliant, going the distance while allowing just two earned runs and spreading out nine hits over the course of the game.
"The team was joking about the fact that I should win on my birthday, but I really wanted to come out and win for the team," asserted Laratta. "Consistency is a big thing, and I've had a rough month. I wanted to get out there and throw well."
Dendinger and Pettorini put the game out of Wildcat striking distance with their round trippers in the sixth inning.
In a surprise move, Northwestern sent ace freshman relief pitcher James Happ to the mound to start the game against the offensively dangerous Buckeyes. Happ, perhaps initially uncomfortable in the role on this big of stage, struggled early with his control and gave up two runs to Ohio State in the top of the first inning. The first team all-Big Ten reliever walked the first batter he faced, Christian Snavely, on four pitches. Mike Rabin then singled to right field followed by another base on balls drawn by Doug Deeds. With the bases loaded, Nick Swisher brought home Snavely with an infield grounder that Northwestern tried to turn into a double play. Deeds was out at second, but Swisher beat the throw to arrive safely at first. Last night's hero Joe Wilkins knocked a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Rabin. After one-half inning, Ohio State held a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats cut Ohio State's lead in half in the bottom of the second inning. With two outs, catcher Ken Padgett drove a Laratta pitch over the left field wall for a solo home run.
After Happ's opening troubles, the youngster settled down and held the Buckeyes in check for four innings, scattering seven hits over that span but allowing no runs. That is, until the top of the sixth when it appeared that Happ hit the wall. After a Drew Anderson infield single that glanced off of Happ's throwing hand, Doug Dendinger stepped to the plate. With the count 3-and-2, the senior first baseman blasted a two-run home run to deep right field.
"We had a lot of hits; we just didn't string them together," stated Dendinger. "I knew it was a matter of time before we got to him. I got the fat part of my bat on the ball and hit it over the fence."
Terry Pettorini followed that effort up with a smash of his own making it back-to-back jacks for the Buckeyes and putting them on top 5-1.
Northwestern slightly dented that advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning. Padgett brought Travis Tharp home from third on a sacrifice fly to nick the OSU lead and make the score 5-2 . Tharp had reached base after being hit by an offering from Laratta.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Wildcats threatened to further slash Ohio State's lead. Hits by Steve Haake and Padgett put a man in scoring position but Laratta came through with the pressure on, ending the inning by striking out pinch hitter Jason Krynski.
Laratta finished the game in grand style, retiring the Northwestern side in the ninth inning 1-2-3.
Northwestern's loss does not mean the end of its season or tournament title hopes. The Wildcats will take on host-team Minnesota tomorrow at a game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT. The winner advances to play Ohio State at 7:00 p.m. CT while the loser is eliminated as both Minnesota and Northwestern have already collected one tournament loss. Whichever squad moves on, the road to the 2002 crown will not be a primrose path. Because Ohio State has yet to experience a tournament loss, either Minnesota or Northwestern will need to defeat the Buckeyes twice to capture the championship. If a second game becomes necessary, the matchup is scheduled to be played on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT.
Post-game Quotes
Ohio State head coach Bob Todd
"The first inning couldn't have gone any better if it was scripted. The freshman pitcher was nervous and he didn't throw strikes. We were able to get the lead and extend it with home runs. We would have liked more runs. E.J. did a good job of mixing up the pitches, especially the first ones to each batter, and keeping the batters off the ball."
Ohio State left fielder Doug Dendinger
"We had a lot of hits, we just didn't string them together. I knew it was a matter of time before we got to him. I got the fat part of my bat on the ball and hit it over the fence."
Ohio State starting pitcher E.J. Laratta
"The team was joking about the fact that I should win on my birthday, but I really wanted to come out for the team. Consistency is a big thing, and I've had a rough month. I wanted to get out there and throw well."
Northwestern head coach Paul Stevens
"It's kind of a scenario where I got to give Ohio State credit. They got the big hits at the right time. We had a chance to get a double play there in the sixth, but we were lucky to get out with only the three runs. My hat goes off to them; they played a great game."
"We had 9 or 10 hits; that's not chicken feed versus a pretty good pitcher. We just didn't get the key hits in key situations. It's not that our guys weren't trying. We hit the ball hard all night. Our hitters were attacking. That's why there are fielders out there. Ohio State did a good job of shutting us down."
Northwestern catcher Ken Padgett
"I saw [E.J. Laratta] before; we're from the same hometown. He kept us off balance all night. We hadn't seen that before in this tournament. He kept us down the whole game. He threw a great game."
