Buckeyes Slam Into Shaky Fullerton

Ohio State, boosted by a boisterous sellout crowd on its home field, got the big hit it needed, almost as if on cue Friday night against Cal State Fullerton.

Sophomore second baseman Chad Ehrnsberger ripped a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth that carried Ohio State to a 10-7 victory over the Titans in the opener of the NCAA best-of-three super-regional in front of 4,378.

Ohio State (50-12) needs a victory today against Fullerton (47-12) to advance to the College World Series, and Coach George Horton was left wondering what happened to the team he saw most of the season and was seeded No. 3 nationally at the start of the tournament.

“We did things in this game that were totally out of character,” Horton said. “This was a big-time environment, and that tends to increase your adrenaline rushes. But I think that worked against us. I think everyone was trying too hard.”

The winning homer came against the Titans’ highly regarded closer, Kirk Saarloos (7-3), who lost his first game since Feb. 28 at Alabama.

Ehrnsberger worked Saarloos for a 3-1 count with the bases loaded and two out before getting the pitch he wanted.

“I knew he was going to come with a fastball because he wasn’t going to walk in a run,” Ehrnsberger said. “He seemed to be having trouble getting his breaking ball over for strikes.”

Saarloos said he left the pitch higher in the strike zone than he wanted. “My fastball wasn’t sinking as much as it normally does,” Saarloos said.

The previous batter, Jason Trott, had fouled off three 3-2 pitches before walking to load the bases. “I thought I had him on a couple of changeups, but you have to give him credit. He did a good job of hitting.”

The Titans built a 5-2 lead after consecutive home runs by Aaron Rifkin and Ryan Owens in the top of the fifth inning, but Fullerton starter Matt Sorensen gave up four runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Sorensen walked four batters in the inning, two of them with the bases loaded, and John Driscoll drilled a two-out double that drove in two more runs.

“I was trying to do too much,” said Sorensen, who gave up six runs, eight hits and six walks. “I was trying to do it all myself, and I got too fine with with my fastball. My mechanics broke down.”

Sorensen’s control problems also had cost him a run in the third. With two out, he walked consecutive batters and Ehrnsberger’s ground-ball single scored a run.

Ohio State starter Justin Fry (11-2) also had trouble early, but recovered and picked up the victory. Fry gave up seven runs on nine hits and four walks in 8 1/3 innings. He struck out 12.

Fullerton had taken a 1-0 lead in the first on Spencer Oborn’s single and Owens’ base hit, but an error by Shawn Norris opened the door to an unearned Buckeye run in the second. Jason Turner singled, sending Ehrnsberger to third. Driscoll grounded to Sean Bischofberger at third, but Bischofberger threw wildly to the plate after Ehrnsberger was caught in a rundown.

Owens delivered a two-out single in the third that produced two more Titan runs before he homered in the fifth for his fifth RBI of the game.

The Titans tied it in the top of the sixth when Fry hit Bischofberger, walked Craig Patterson and gave up an RBI single to Robert Guzman. With none out, Patterson was held at third and was stranded there. Fry struck out Reed Johnson, walked Oborn intentionally and got Chris Beck to bounce into a double play.

“It’s a good thing we had Owens here tonight,” Horton said.

But Horton was generally disappointed with his team’s effort. “We only had one game this season where we gave up more walks, and one game where we struck out more,” Horton said. “We weren’t as tough a ballclub as we usually are. But we can still continue playing if we start playing like we did all season.”