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Ohio State Splits Grind City Classic; Dominated by Louisiana Tech, Sweeps Memphis

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Bucks2K18's picture
by Bucks2K18
2/22/26 at 4:39p in the OSU Athletics Forum
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Well, this certainly was an unconventional weekend. Ohio State played a four game weekend against two opponents in Louisiana Tech and Memphis. The bad news is, Ohio State is winless in games that are not streamed (which does that mean they were actually played?). The good news is, Ohio State is undefeated in games that are streamed.

 

Starting Friday, Ohio State played an untraditional double header, playing one game against each team, and they could not have had two more different results. 

In the early game, against Louisiana Tech, Ohio State's offense was held in check for a total of 4 hits all game. Louisiana Tech broke the scoreless tie with a 2-run T5, and then added to that with a 2-run T8 and T9 to pull away to hand the Buckeyes the 6-0 loss, their first of the year. Starting pitcher Chris Domke recorded the loss, dropping him to 1-1 on the season.

2/20/26 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Louisiana Tech 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 6 12 0
Ohio State 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0

 

Yet, with a double header, the BaseBucks got the opportunity to immediately wash the bad taste of the loss out of their mouths, and boy did they. Memphis did get the early lead with a 3-run B1, but Ohio State slowly chipped away and then bombed ahead. An RBI double by Alex Bemis brought Henry Kaczmar home to put the Buckeyes on the board in the T2, and a sac-fly by Noah Furcht sent Miles Vandenheuvel home to cut the lead to 3-2 in the T3. Memphis added 1 run in the B3 to temporarily extend their lead, but it was pretty much all Buckeyes from there. In the T5, Vandenheuvel came home on a Tiger throwing error, then after Lee Ellis stole second, Furcht hit an RBI-single brought Ellis home. Ellis then stole second and was immediately brought home on an RBI single by Kazmar, all leading to Ohio State taking the 5-4 lead.

Memphis got one more run in the B5, but the fireworks came in the T6, leadoff CJ Reid and Bemis were both hit by pitches and Kazmar was walked to load the bases. Two batters later, Mason Eckelman took the first pitch and sent it deep for a grand slam for the Buckeyes' first home run of the season, blowing the game open for a 9-5 lead. In the T8, Maddix Simpson came home on an RBI single by Ellis, then Eckelman essentially sealed the win as he hit another home run, this time a 2-runner, bringing Ellis home. The pitching crew would then do their job well, as the last 7 outs, going back to the B7 were all strikeouts, leading Ohio State to a bounce back 12-5 win.

Reliever Jake Michalak was credited with the win, but the entire pitching staff was outstanding for the vast majority of the game. Despite giving up Memphis' first four runs, starter Gavin Kuzniewski rang up 9 Tiger batters, including 6 in a row stretching from the 1st to 3rd innings. Memphis only had 3 total hits after the 4th inning, and only 1 after the 5th, and all 6 pitchers recorded at least 1 strikeout each for a total of 21 strikeouts in the entire game. There was a hairy moment in the B7 as reliever Owen Graf walked the bases loaded, but Andrew Edrington came in and cleaned up the mess without allowing a single run.

2/20/26 (2) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 1 1 0 3 4 0 3 0 12 13 2
Memphis 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 7 2

 

 

 

 

Saturday's rematch against LA Tech went much the same way as Friday's game, though the Buckeyes did at least score this time. The Bulldogs quickly got up 4-0 with 2-run B1 and B2 innings. Ohio State got on the board in the T4 when Furcht singled to send Ellis home, but Tech responded immediately with a 3-run B4 to open the game up to 7-1. In the 6th and 7th, the Buckeyes and Bulldogs traded runs as Eckelman hit an RBI single to bring Vandenheuvel home in the T6 and Steven Cavaco came home on a sac-groundout by Dane Harvey, but LA Tech responded with a run of their own each time to finish off the 9-3 Bulldog win. Starter Jude Fisher recorded the loss, dropping him to 1-1 on the season. 

2/21/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 7 1
Louisiana Tech 2 2 0 3 0 1 1 0 X 9 12 1

 

Sunday's rematch against Memphis started off rocky, but the Buckeyes settled down and found their groove. Memphis again got the early lead with 1 run in each of the B1 and B2 innings, but Ellis tied up the game in the T3 with a 2-run long ball, bringing Bemis with him. In the T4, a wind-assisted double by Simpson brought Cavaco home from 1st to give the Buckeyes the lead. Simpson then came home from second on a Memphis fielding error for a 4-2 lead. In the T5, Furcht hit a solo homer and in the T6, a sac-bunt by Vandenheuvel brought Cavaco home and a double by Ellis brought Jacob Parr home to blow the lead open to 7-2. Then in the T7, Simpson reached on a fielder's choice to bring Grant Mangrum home as the Buckeyes finished off an 8-X bounce back win. Starter Pierce Herrenbruck earned the win as he pitched 3 strikeouts to 3 hits and allowed 2 runs through 6.0 innings. 

2/22/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 8 7 1
Memphis 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2

 

 

After the split weekend, Ohio State moved to 5-2. Louisiana Tech improved to 7-1 after their own sweep, and Memphis dropped to 2-5 after being swept.

Up Next, Ohio State goes down to Houston, Texas to play in the Bruce Bolt College Classic with games against 7-0 UTSA on Friday, 8-0 Ole Miss on Saturday, and 7-0 Texas on Sunday. Overall, the BaseBucks do look much improved this year, but this coming weekend will definitely be an indication of just how much improvement has been made.

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