By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Pitcher Sam Simmons entered in relief in the top of the ninth inning and retired three straight batters on ground balls, as the UTSA Roadrunners held off the Ohio State Buckeyes, 6-5, to win the opener of the Bruce Bolt College Classic in Houston.
The games in the three-day event are being held at Daikin Park, the home of the Houston Astros.
Coming from behind to beat the Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference, UTSA rallied with two-out hits in both the sixth and seventh innings, scoring twice on each, to take a 5-3 lead.
Designated hitter Garrett Gruell stroked a two-run single in the sixth and then Lane Haworth blasted a two-run homer in the seventh. In the eighth, the Roadrunners manufactured a run, thanks to the speed of Christian Hallmark.
First, Hallmark was hit by pitch. Next, he stole second. With one out, Diego Diaz came to bat for UTSA and chopped a ground ball to the right side.
When Ohio State first baseman Steven Cavaco touched first base for the second out of the inning, Hallmark didn’t slow down on a mad dash for home plate.
Diving head first, he was tagged by catcher Mason Eckelman, but the ball popped out as the hard-charging base runner made impact with the glove. He touched home to make it 6-3.
In the ninth, the Buckeyes put their first two batters aboard against UTSA’s Mike DeBattista on an infield single by Mile Vandenheuvel and a double to left by Lee Ellis.
With runners at second and third and nobody out, Simmons entered the game to pitch.
Ground balls by Eckelman and Noah Furcht scored one run apiece, but Simmons finished the game when Henry Kaczmar bounced out to second.
UTSA (8-1) is scheduled to play Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon and Baylor on Sunday night.
Coastal Carolina reached the championship round in the Men’s College World Series last summer.
The ninth-ranked Chanticleers (6-2) were scheduled to open the Bruce Bolt event Friday night against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns.
Records
Ohio State 5-3
UTSA 8-1
Coming up
UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina, Saturday, 3:05 p.m.
UTSA vs. Baylor, Sunday, 6:05 p.m.
The road to Houston
The Roadrunners opened the season with seven straight victories at home.
Included in the record start were three consecutive victories over Dallas Baptist, a perennial NCAA tournament team. Playing on the road Tuesday in San Marcos, they lost 7-2 to the Texas State Bobcats.
Ohio State started its season with three straight wins in Pensacola, Fla., against Saint Louis.
The Buckeyes next played four straight in Memphis. They lost the first and third games in the event to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and won the second and fourth games against the Memphis Tigers.
Notable
Starting pitchers for UTSA and Ohio State put on a good show. UTSA’s Connor Kelley battled with control problems early, but he made it through four and a third innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Though Kelley walked four, he showcased a high-velocity fastball, striking out seven in a 105-pitch performance.
For Ohio State, Gavin Kuzniewski pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Roadrunners relief pitchers held their own.
After Noah Furcht blasted a one-out, solo homer off Kelley in the top of the fifth to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead, UTSA lefthander Christopher Gutierrez entered and struck out both batters he faced to close the inning.
Winning pitcher Mike DeBattista (2-0) was charged with the two runs that scored in the ninth. Otherwise, he was solid, finishing with three innings of work. He yielded five hits and no walks and struck out two.
Ohio State reliever Zak Sigman took the loss after giving up the go-ahead, two-run homer to Lane Haworth, a Wichita State transfer who entered the game as UTSA’s leading hitter.
Both Haworth and Garrett Gruell finished with two hits and two RBIs apiece.
Ohio State out-hit UTSA, 11-7. The Buckeyes showed good pop on offense five hits going for extra bases. Lee Ellis had two hits, both of them doubles. Furcht homered into the Crawford boxes and drove in two in a two-for-five performance.
Also getting two hits apiece were Henry Kaczmar and Maddix Simpson. Kaczmar singled up the middle in the first inning to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead.