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Jake Hale complete game pushes Ohio State past top-seeded Michigan, 4-2, in Big Ten Tournament
Buckeyes advance to winner's bracket final, face second-seeded Minnesota at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
May 24, 2007
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Ohio State sophomore right-hander
Jake Hale pitched a complete game to lead OSU past top-seeded Michigan, 4-2, in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Buckeyes defeated Penn State, 10-3, in the opening round of the tournament Wednesday.
The win puts Ohio State, the No. 6 seed, in the winner's bracket final against second-seeded Minnesota at 7:05 p.m. Friday. If OSU wins Friday, it will advance to the championship game at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. A loss Friday would put the Buckeyes in the loser's bracket and they would play at 3:35 p.m. Saturday.
In the first game Thursday, Penn State defeated Iowa, 5-3, eliminating Iowa from the tournament. In the winner's bracket game, Minnesota downed Illinois, 10-3, sending the Illini to the loser's bracket. Michigan faces Penn State at 12:05 p.m. Friday in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to face Illinois at 3:35 p.m. Friday.
Ohio State took an early lead, striking for three runs in the top of the first.
Jacob Howell (Sr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) led off the game with a single and
Matt Angle (Jr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) reached on a walk. After the Wolverines retired the next two batters,
Justin Miller (So., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby),
Jason Zoeller (Sr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) and
Tony Kennedy (Jr., Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) followed with three straight singles, with each single driving in a run for a 3-0 Buckeyes lead.
Michigan cut into OSU's lead with a home run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 3-1.
The Buckeyes regained their three-run lead, 4-1, by plating one in the top of seventh.
Ryan Dew (Fr., Croton, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) singled with one out and then stole second base.
Eric Fryer (Jr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) followed with an RBI single up the middle. Dew entered the game in the sixth inning in right field for an injured Angle, with
J.B. Shuck (So., Galion, Ohio/Galion) moving to center.
Hale (So., Albany, Ohio/Alexander) kept the Michigan hitters off balance all night, giving up just two earned runs while scattering 11 hits. He walked three and struck out six as he pitched the first nine-inning complete game of his career to improve to 3-3 on the season. It was just the third start of the season for the 6-7 right-hander, who leads OSU in saves with 10.
Michigan's ace Zach Putnam started and also had an impressive outing, giving up four earned runs on 10 hits in 7.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five, with his record falling to 7-4 on the year.
The Buckeyes had 10 hits on the night, Michigan 11. Howell and Kennedy each had two hits in the game.
