Big Ten - 11th Inning
By Courtney Ratkowiak - May 25, 2007
Both teams temporarily lost their bats in the tenth inning - three up, three down for both sides. It's the 11th inning, and Minnesota's up to bat. Minnesota left fielder Tijl Vanderwege is on second, advancing on a sacrifice bunt - and catcher Kevin Carlson walks. Runners on first and second, one out. ... But the next two batters can't do anything, striking out and hitting a grounder right to first. Nothing comes out of the top of the inning, and they're still tied at 9.
Bottom 11th - Another strikeout to start the inning. One out. And on a full count, OSU left fielder Chris Macke walks. Shortstop Cory Rupert hits it to the outfield, sending Macke to third - the winning run is in scoring position with only one out. Pitching change - will that really help at this point?
I guess so - second baseman Cory Kovanda strikes out, leaving a man on third with two outs. It's crunch time. And the top of the order is up - center fielder Jacob Howell.
He singles on his second pitch, showing why he's the leadoff hitter, and scores Macke, who reached base on a walk in the first place - ouch.
The game is over. There's cause for celebration, and the Buckeyes are playing the part well. They've come from being the last seed, making it into the tournament on the last day of the regular season, to having a spot in the championship game with no losses. Wow. Ohio State coach Bob Todd said on Tuesday that his team can't afford to be in the loser's bracket because they won't be able to climb out of it, and his words keep echoing through my head as I watch the Buckeyes defeat everyone - Penn State, Michigan, now Minnesota. They've won against the 1, 2 and 3 seeds - and now will play the winner of the Minnesota - Penn State game tomorrow.
Basically, whoever the Buckeyes play for the championship, they'll have already played and beaten once in this tournament. Will that be motivation to win again - or will the other team, whoever it may be, be fired up and ready for revenge?
If the Buckeyes lose tomorrow night, they'll have to play the same opponent on Sunday morning, since they have no losses in this tournament. Of course, if they win tomorrow night, they have the championship crown and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament, while Michigan and Minnesota will have to sweat it out and see if either of them receive NCAA at-large bids. If Minnesota wins the tournament, they'll get the automatic bid and Michigan will most likely get an at-large bid - but a surprise team winning the tournament, like Ohio State, will possibly ruin the at-large hopes of the other teams.
Until tomorrow -
Posted by Courtney Ratkowiak at 10:15 PM on May 25, 2007
Comment
