Baseball As coaches go, OSU Head Baseball Coach Bob Todd is a reporter's dream. There's never a need to drag information out of Todd. Ask him a simple question and he gives you three or four minutes of intelligent, informative answer. Bob Todd almost never ever gives a one-word answer. When he does there's a problem. Tonight, when asked if he was upset with his team's play against the Eastern Michigan, Todd could barely get out an answer. "Yeah," he grunted. Uh-oh, a one-word grunt from Todd. Things are not going to be pleasant in the OSU clubhouse, and they shouldn't be. After playing outstanding, championship-caliber baseball against Minnesota last weekend, the Buckeyes played like also-rans in taking a 10-7 loss at the hands of Eastern Michigan before 1,681 fans in Bill Davis stadium on a warm night in Columbus.When Todd was able to comment, it was obvious he wasn't happy. "Our pitchers gave up 15 hits again tonight and we didn't play very sound defensively. That makes the difference in the ballgame. We talk about it. Anybody can beat you on a given day, but tonight it almost felt like we beat ourselves to a great extent," said Todd. The Buckeyes have now lost mid-week games to Wright State, Akron, and Eastern Michigan. That's decent competition, but hardly a Who's Who of college baseball. It almost seems that Todd's youth-dominated squad is having problems concentrating on the midweek games after getting up for the important Big Ten weekends. "It could be, but the bottom line is that you've got to play the game of baseball. You've got to come ready to play. Nobody is going to give you anything. Believe me, I've been disappointed with the outcome of some of these midweek games," lamented Todd. The Buckeyes started out well enough. After a shaky first inning in which he gave up a leadoff home run to second baseman Tony Palazzolo, OSU starter Kyle Brown settled down to retire 11 hitters in a row and hold Eastern to just that one run through four innings. "He had a tough first inning, but then he settled down and did a good job," said Todd. "Kyle is somebody that has to get some innings midweek so that he can help us and be strong on the weekend in the conference," Todd added. Eastern did get to Brown in the fifth inning. It was an inning that made onlookers wonder if somebody should perhaps run out for a tourniquet. After a leadoff walk, EMU strung together three consecutive singles, all of which could be classified as bleeders, to start a three-run rally that was aided by an error by OSU shortstop Trent McIlvain. The Buckeyes got the final out of the inning when an Eastern base runner missed home on a sliding attempt to score and was tagged out by OSU catcher Chris Alvord. Alvord put the tag on the runner when he slid past the plate and into the left-handed hitter's batting box. OSU had staked Brown to a 6-1 lead prior to the fifth inning by rallying for two runs in each of the first, second and fourth innings. OSU center fielder Mike Check figured in the scoring in all those innings. For the night, Check was three for five with three RBI and one run scored. Check produced a bunt single in the first to move a runner to second. That runner eventually scored. He had a triple in the second after two were out to drive in two runs, and a double in the fourth to drive in another. After that fourth inning, however, the Buckeye bats went cold. The only other scoring they could muster was on a solo home run by red-hot Doug Dendinger who tied the game at seven in the seventh with a shot over the left field fence. OSU reliever Kevin Wynk had a tough night, lasting only one-third of an inning and walking in a run while giving up two hits. Jason Bullens came on to get Wynk out of trouble in the sixth, but was touched up for two runs in the seventh on back-to-back doubles with nobody out and McIlvain's second error of the ballgame. With the game tied at seven apiece Eastern put three more runs on the scoreboard in the eighth against OSU reliever Brandon Steen. Steen allowed three runs on three hits, including a solo home run to pinch hitter Ryan Goleski in the eighth. The loss obviously does not affect the Buckeyes in the big picture of the Big Ten race, but it does affect them in the even bigger picture of making the NCAA tournament. "They're huge," said Todd describing the impact of the midweek losses by the Buckeyes. "As you look at it, they're huge. What we have to do is win enough games against Division I opponents so that the NCAA committee will strongly consider us regardless of what happens with the Big Ten race. For some reason, we just have not been mature enough to play good ball mid-week," said Todd. Todd wanted no part of a suggestion that his young team was looking ahead to the weekend series in league play against Indiana. "We ought to stay focused and play one game at a time. We can't sit here and worry on Wednesday night or a Thursday night what we're going to try and do on Saturday, Sunday and Monday," said Todd. With the loss, OSU falls to 34-12 overall while Eastern Michigan raises its record to 16-29. The Buckeyes will take on Cincinnati in.........a midweek game.........tomorrow at Bill Davis Stadium. OSU announced that tickets for the rained out Ohio Wesleyan game would be honored for the Cincinnati game. Return to O-Zone Columns and Features (c)2001 The O-Zone,
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