May 20, 2006
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - In his last day as a collegian, Ohio standout Anthony Gressick bombed two home runs and drove in the winning tally with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth as the Bobcats closed out the season with a 12-11 victory against Bowling Green Saturday afternoon in Bob Wren Stadium.
Gressick, who scored the winning run in a 7-6 ninth-inning victory in the first game of Friday's doubleheader, brought his Ohio career to a close in dramatic fashion on Saturday. Down 7-1, the Bobcat slugger cranked his first homer of the day in the sixth to begin the comeback, added his second round-tripper of the day to tie the game 7-7 in the seventh, then had a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to deliver the 12-11 victory.
Early on the game had the look of a pitcher's dual as BGSU's Marty Baird and Gressick experienced early success. Ohio didn't get its first hit until Chris Klimko led off the home half of the third with a single. Klimko then advanced safely to second on an errant throw on a fielder's choice and scored three batters later when Dusty Hammond drew a bases-loaded walk.
In spite of what turned out to be a shoot-out, Falcon starter Marty Baird was in control on the mound through the first five innings and the game was rather lopsided in the visitor's favor halfway through as the Falcons registered the next seven runs of the contest.
BGSU got two in the top of the fourth on consecutive sacrifices, then battered Gressick for five tallies in the fifth. The Falcons started the inning with four-straight singles and Brian Hangbers drove a rainbow fly over the wall in dead center field for a grand slam and a 7-1 BGSU lead.
The Bobcats nearly got all of those runs back in the home half of the sixth, however. Hammond led off with a single to left and the first pitch Gressick saw from Baird rocketed over the scoreboard in left center field to cut the lead to 7-3. The Bobcats' fourth run came across when Kirk Payne reached on an error and Hayden Johnston plated two more runs on a single through the left side to slice the BGSU advantage to 7-6.
Ohio ground out its second-straight five-inning at-bat in the seventh to storm into the lead. For the second inning in a row, Gressick registered a round-tripper to get the rally started. His second of the day was a towering shot down the right field line.
The Bobcats continued the inning with four more tallies on hits by Bryant Witt, Klimko and Johnston to put Ohio in an 11-7 advantage.
John Angelicchi took over on the mound for Ohio and tossed a scoreless eighth inning, but got in trouble in the ninth. The Falcons plated four runs on four-different Bobcat pitchers in the frame as the Ohio bullpen combination could not hold the lead and the game went to the bottom half tied, 11-11.
The see-saw game took its final turn in the bottom of the ninth, and it all started with two outs. After Klimko popped out and Willie Walker grounded out, Johnston was hit by a pitch and BGSU brought on its fifth pitcher of the day in Garrett Kloots. J.T. Osburn then singled to center and a Kloots wild pitch moved Johnston to third. Hammond drew a walk to load the bases, setting the stage for Gressick, who chopped a single just out of reach of the diving Falcon third baseman and Johnston provided the winning run.
Zach Elmer (1-0), Ohio's fifth pitcher of the day, was credited with his first career victory after recording the last two outs in the top of the ninth.
Gressick got a no-decision in his last collegiate start after surrendering seven earned runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and one walk in seven innings of work.
"He (Gressick) came into Ohio University and has been an outstanding hitter and pitcher, and has been our best baserunner," Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone said. "He's what you call a real outstanding ball player."
Gressick also finished 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs. He closed out his stellar career ranked third on Ohio's all-time list with 36 home runs, fourth with 384 total bases, fifth with 44 doubles, sixth with 228 hits and sixth with 157 RBIs.
"We wish we had four more years of eligibility for him," Carbone said. "He's a great player, a great competitor, a very loyal young man and very coachable. He's just a great person besides being an outstanding college baseball player."
Johnston recorded a career-high four RBIs with two hits and Witt finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Tyler Saneholtz (1-2) was responsible for the winning run and took the loss for BGSU in relief after allowing the winning run in 1 2-3 innings of work.
Baird allowed six runs - four earned - on five hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Hangbers finished 2-for-4 at the plate with six RBIs and three runs scored.
The win clinched Ohio its first three-game sweep of the year in the last series of the year. The Bobcats' season ends with a 22-25 overall record and a 14-13 mark in Mid-American Conference play. BGSU finished 26-27 and 11-16. Both teams failed to qualify for the MAC Tournament.
