Ohio State beats Indiana, 2-1, move into first-place tie

Behind a seventh-inning two-out RBI-triple from Pat Porter, Ohio State knocks off No. 15 Indiana, 2-1, to move into a tie atop the Big Ten standings. Two innings earlier Indiana opted to intentionally walk senior first baseman first baseman Brad Hallberg to get right fielder Pat Porter.

While the move set up a left-on-left situation with Indiana junior southpaw Joey DeNato facing the left-handed hitting sophomore, the right-handed batting Hallberg entered the contest batting .241 while Porter led the Buckeyes with 20 extra-base hits, holding a .293 average on the season. Indiana skipper Tracy Smith proved wise as Porter rolled over a grounder to first base, ending the inning with runners on first and second, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of Ohio State.

But after the Hoosiers knotted the score 1-1 the following inning Porter's next at-bat he showed why caution should be urged when pitching to him.

After Hallberg dribbled a seventh-inning two-out single up the middle, Porter skied an opposite-field triple off the left field wall, scoring Hallberg giving the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead. With sophomore Trace Dempsey's 17th save, one shy of the school and Big Ten-record, the Buckeye victory moved Ohio State into a tie atop the Big Ten standings with Indiana, sharing 15-7 conference marks with two games to go.

Porter's heroics, along with a 3-for-4 effort from freshman Zach Ratcliff and six strong innings from senior right-handed pitcher improved Ohio State to 34-19 on the season, ending a season-worst four-game losing streak.