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The Ohio State baseball squad recorded their second-consecutive shutout victory on Wednesday evening, blanking Marshall, 4-0. With the threat of snow throughout the day on Tuesday, the Buckeyes delayed their matchup with the Thundering Herd for 24 hours, although the temperatures still hovered around the freezing mark by game time.
The only thing colder than the wind chill, however, were the Marshall bats, as Ohio State starter Zach Farmer struck out a career-high six batters over five innings on the mound. In fact, the Thundering Herd never reached scoring position, as three different pitchers held the visiting team to a total of three hits on the night.
In the meantime, the Buckeyes' offensive production was paced by two freshman. As they have all season long, outfielders Ronnie Dawson and Troy Montgomery combined timely hitting and smart base running to give Ohio State an early lead. A gap single by veteran Josh Dezse and a walk to Dawson put runners in scoring position for Montgomery, who came through with a single of his own to right, allowing the lead runner to score. The Buckeyes doubled their lead when Dawson crossed the plate as the two freshman attempted a double steal. Although Montgomery was tagged out between first and second, the damage had already been done.
Ohio State tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, as back-to-back doubles by shortstop Nick Sergakis and third baseman Jacob Bosiokovic extended the lead to three. Bosiokovic would add an insurance run and another RBI to the stat sheet with a sacrifice fly in the seventh frame, capping the scoring for the evening.
Along with Farmer's stellar night, relievers Tyler Giannonatti and Trace Dempsey combined to allow only two hits over the course of four innings.
Winners in eight of their last nine games, the Buckeyes improved to 16-7 on the season. A three-game set with reigning-Big Ten Champion Indiana looms large, as the regular season conference championship came down to the final inning of the final game between these two programs last season. The Hoosiers, 12-10 this season, are coming off a loss Wednesday night to Indiana State, a common opponent of both teams. First pitch for Friday night's contest is set for 6:35 p.m. at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.