Around the Oval: Baseball Team Sweeps No. 19 Michigan, Softball to the NCAA Tournament & Tennis Teams to Sweet 16

Heating Up

It's been an up and down season for the Buckeye baseball team, but they are on quite the hot streak to close the regular season. Ohio State has won four straight games against ranked opponents, including a weekend sweep over arch-rival Michigan.

Wednesday, an offensive explosion doomed No. 16 Florida Atlantic. The Buckeyes scored 10 runs on 10 hits against the Owls, aided by senior co-captain Nick Sergakis' first career grand slam in the third, on the way to a 10-2 win.

Ohio State was able to carry the momentum into its weekend series with arch-rival No. 19 Michigan. Game one was a low scoring affair as junior left-hander Tanner Tully allowed just one run in eight innings pitched. The Wolverines did not go away easily, however, pulling within one run in the ninth with a running in scoring position.

It was junior Troy Montgomery who came through for the Buckeyes, making a diving catch on a dangerous hit to secure the game one victory 3-2.

ICYMI: @OhioState_BASE #Buckeyes GRAB victory over TTUN
Game 2 today 3pm#GoBucks Beat!https://t.co/L83c13Gnhk

— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) May 14, 2016

The next two games were dominated by the Buckeyes. On a rainy Saturday, the Scarlet and Gray downed the Wolverines 7-3 behind a stellar performance from senior John Havird to clinch the series. Sunday, the Buckeye bats dominated Michigan yet again, scoring seven runs in the last half of the game to sweep the Wolverines on senior day with a 8-2 victory.

"Winning helps the confidence but the confidence is in everybody, not just in themselves but in their teammates as well," said head coach Greg Beals in an Ohio State release. "There's a trust factor. Trust is something that's in our cultural blueprint and that is as much of a confidence builder as anything. We're not done yet, but I'm happy that when the chips are down we played as good as we did this weekend."

The Buckeyes have now won four straight games against ranked opponents, improving to 5-1 against them on the season, and have climbed into a third-place tie in the Big Ten standings. However, there is still work to do.

Ohio State closes its regular season with a weekend series against Big Ten leading No. 21 Minnesota, where it has a chance to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume and possibly earn the Big Ten regular season title with a sweep.

Unlike 2015 where they had a late season collapse which caused them to be left out of the NCAA Tournament field despite a No. 44 RPI ranking, the Buckeyes are peaking at the right time. With a solid showing this weekend and in next weekend's Big Ten tournament, Ohio State could go from decidedly outside the bubble to a strong contender for an at large bid.

Going Dancing

For the first time since 2010, the Ohio State softball team is in the NCAA Tournament field. After a 33 win season, the Buckeyes earned an at large bid to the 64 team field.

"We're thrilled to be able to continue our season in the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Kovach Schoenly in an Ohio State release. "It's a testament to our senior class and the leaders on this team who have pushed us the entire year."

Ohio State earned its at large bid thanks to its performance in big games. The Buckeyes won nine games against RPI top 75 teams with six of the wins coming away from home. 

OSU is headed to the Knoxville regional, where its slated to take on Arizona, Friday at 4:30 p.m. Pending that result, the Buckeyes will take on either No. 13 Tennessee or Marist, Saturday afternoon.

How Sweet It Is

Both the men's and women's tennis teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 this weekend. For the men, it's the 11th straight time they've reached the third round, and for the women, it's the first time in program history.

Each hosting the first two rounds, both teams made short work of their opponents in the opening round, each notching 4-0 sweeps with the women downing Youngstown State and the men topping Tennessee Tech. 

In the second round, the No. 4 women's team took on No. 27 UCLA, Saturday. Despite dropping the doubles point, the Buckeyes won four straight singles matches, highlighted by Ohio State freshman phenom No. 3  Francesca Di Lorenzo downing No. 17 Catherine Harrison 7-5 and 6-3 on court one.

Di Lorenzo won 7-5, 6-3 on court 1, clinching the Buckeyes' 4-1 #NCAATennis win over UCLA. @OhioStAthletics pic.twitter.com/hF1PT60Z6i

— Ohio State W Tennis (@OhioState_WTEN) May 14, 2016

Sunday, it was the mens' turn. The No. 5 Buckeyes took on No. 33 Virginia Tech. After taking the doubles point with ease, the Hokies battled back securing victories over Chris Diaz and Ralf Steinbach. The Buckeyes, however, got victories from Herkko Pollanen and Martin Joyce before Hugo Di Feo came back to win his match in three sets and clinch the match for the Scarlet and Gray.

Both teams advance to face familiar opponents. The women's team will face No. 17 Georgia Tech, Thursday at 8 p.m. The Buckeyes downed the Yellow Jackets 6-1 when the teams met on Valentines day. The men will face Texas, Friday at 10 a.m. The Buckeyes swept the Longhorns 4-0 when the teams previously met in Columbus.

Both teams are well on their way to their first ever NCAA Titles, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Other Scores and NEws

• No. 3 Rowing: Won fourth consecutive Big Ten Title this weekend.
• Men's Track and Field: Freshman Nick Gray won gold medals in men's 100 and 200 meter while senior J.C. Murasky won gold in the shot-put at the Big Ten Championships. The team finished sixth overall.
• Women's Track and Field:  SoSo Walker won gold in the 400 meter dash and Alexis Franklin won gold in the 400 meter hurdles at the Big Ten Championships. The team finished fifth overall.

2015-'16 Title Count: 2

• Pistol
• Men's Volleyball