SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Ohio State 7,
Murray State 3
OHIO STATE 7, MURRAY STATE 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning proved to be the difference as Ohio State won the rubber game of the three-game series over Murray State, 7-3, Sunday afternoon at Bill Davis Stadium.
The game got off to a strange start in the bottom of the first inning as the leadoff batter walked, and Ronnie Dawson followed with a home run over the fence in center field. But, the hitter passed the runner at first base and was called out, putting just one run on the board.
OSU (23-18) added single runs in the second and third innings as Nick Sergakis delivered an RBI single in the second and Zach Ratcliff delivered a sacrifice fly to center in the third.
The Breds (17-20) battled back to tie the game in the fifth as Dalton West was hit by a pitch and Taylor Mathews singled through the left side. Ty Stetson moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt and Anthony Bayus drove both runners home with a triple up the middle. Kollin Dowdy followed by plating Bayus with a single up the middle.
The Buckeyes regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. After the first two hitters were retired, back-to-back walks ignited a rally. Josh Dezse drove in the go-ahead run with a single through the right side before a wild pitch allowed a second run to score.
OSU added a pair of runs with two outs in eighth to extend their lead to four.
Sheldon Baxter (1-4) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits and four walks over 4.2 innings. Zach Farmer (6-4) picked up the victory in relief, allowing three runs on four hits and three strikeouts over five innings.
Dowdy led the offense by going 4-for-4 with an RBI. Mathews added two hits and scored a run.