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BaseBucks: Sweeps of Butler and Minnesota Sandwich Loss to Wright State

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Bucks2K18's picture
by Bucks2K18
3/29/26 at 5:14p in the OSU Athletics Forum
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Well, things are taking a step upwards. Though not against the stiffest of competition, the BaseBucks took care of business, for the most part, to get back to .500 at 13-13.

 

Things started with a break in the conference schedule with a weekend series against Butler, and things could not have gone any better. 

In game 1, Ohio State pounced quickly and did not let up. In the B1, a double steal attempt brought Noah Furcht home before Mason Eckelman was tagged to give the Buckeyes the early 1-0 lead. From there, Ohio State just extended the lead more and more. In the B2, Miles Vandenheuvel hit a 2-RBI double, sending Dane Harvey and Steven Cavaco home, and subsequently came home himself on an RBI single by CJ Reid. Then in the B4, Ohio State turned in a massive 2 out rally to blow the game open. Reid came home on an RBI single by Henry Kaczmar, then Furcht hit a 2-RBI triple, sending Kaczmar and Alex Bemis home, and then came home as Eckelman reached on a Butler fielding error as the Buckeyes opened up an 8-0 lead.

In the B5, Reid was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, sending Maddix Simpson home, and in the B6, Eckelman came home on a groundout by Cavaco, and Harvey came home on a wild pitch to move the lead to 11-0. Then in the T7, pitcher Gavin Kuzniewski turned a double play to finish off a run-rule complete game, earning the win, his first of the season, as he struck out 5 Butler batters to only 2 walks and 5 hits in the 7.0 innings of the game.

3/20/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Butler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Ohio State 1 3 0 4 1 2 X 11 10 0

 

 

 

The BaseBucks celebrated Senior Day on Saturday, honoring Henry Kaczmar, Noah Furcht, Grant Mangrum, Zach Weber, Luke Carrell, Hunter Shaw, Ryan Butler, Alonzo Paul Jr., and Duglas Bauer.

In the game, Butler got off to an immediate 1-0 lead in the T1, but that would not hold long as an RBI single by Kaczmar sent Bemis home to tie the game in the B3. Butler took the lead back in the T4, but that did not last long either as in the B5, Dane Harvey gave the Buckeyes a 5-2 lead with a GRAND SLAM, bringing Bemis, Kaczmar, and Eckelman home along with him. Then in the B6, Vandenheuvel came home on a sac-fly by Kaczmar, and Eckelman hit a 2-RBI single to send Reid and Bemis home. Butler got 1 back in the T7, but Ohio State responded by slamming the door shut as Bemis hit a 3-run homer in the B7, bringing Simpson and Reid home, then Harvey finished the game early with a 2-run homer in the B8, bringing Furcht home, giving Ohio State the 13-3 win to clinch the series. Starting pitcher Chris Domke earned the win with 2 ER on 5 hits to 6 strikeouts and only 2 walks through 5.2 innings pitched, bringing him up to 2-3 on the season. 

3/21/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Butler 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 6 0
Ohio State 0 0 1 0 4 3 3 2 13 15 1

 

 

 

In game 3 on Sunday, Butler again got off to an immediate 3-0 lead with 2 in the T1 and 1 more in the T2. However the BaseBucks quickly gave a massive response. In the B2, Cavaco hit a RBI single to send Eckelman home, then Reid was walked with the bases loaded, sending Eckelman home. Following that, Alex Bemis took his turn for a GRAND SLAM, bringing Simpson, Cavaco, and Reid home, and giving the Buckeyes the early 6-3 lead. Butler got 1 back in the T3, but it would be all Buckeyes from there. In the B3, a sac-fly by Harvey brought Eckelman home. In the B5, Kaczmar launched a solo-homer.

Ohio State broke the game open in the B6 as Bemis hit his second homer of the game, this time a 2-run blast to bring Reid home, followed by an RBI double by Harvey to send Furcht home and a sac-fly by Simpson to bring Eckelman home. In the B7, Henry Kaczmar ended the game early with a walk-off 2-RBI single, sending Vandenheuvel and Reid home for the 14-4 run-rule win and the series sweep. Starting pitcher Pierce Herrenbruck earned the win with 4 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits to 4 strikeouts and 1 walk through 5.0 innings, bringing him to 2-1 on the season.

3/22/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Butler 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 5 1
Ohio State 0 6 1 0 1 4 2 14 11 2

 

 

After the sweep, Ohio State started a road stretch by paying a visit to in-state foe Wright State on Tuesday.

The Raiders got off to an immediate 4-0 lead in the B1, but Ohio State responded in the T2 as Vandenheuvel hit a 2-RBI single, sending Harvey and Simpson home, followed by a sac-fly by Bemis to bring Cavaco home. Vandenheuvel then finished what he started as he came home on a wild pitch to tie the game. It was back and forth for the next couple innings as Wright State got 1 in each of the B2 and B3, sandwiching an RBI single by Harvey, sending Furcht home in the T3. Then in the T4, Ohio State took an 8-6 lead as Furcht singled to send Bemis home and Eckelman also singled to send Kaczmar and Furcht home. However, Wright State tied the game in the B6 and then took the lead that would give them the win as five out of the first six Raider base runners were walked to give Wright State the 10-8 win. Relief pitcher Andrew Edrington recorded the loss, dropping him to 0-2 on the season, as he allowed 3 of the 5 walks and was responsible for the 2 Raider runs in the B8.

3/24/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 8 11 1
Wright State 4 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 X 10 14 3

 

 

Ohio State would continue the road trip with a return to conference play in a visit to a traditional Big Ten opponent in Minnesota.

Game 1 on Friday was a back and forth affair all game. Ohio State got off to an immediate 1-0 lead as Eckelman hit an RBI triple to send Furcht home in the T1. The Gophers took the lead with 2 in the B2, but Eckelman tied the game with a solo shot in the T4, then Kaczmar launched a 2-run blast in the T6, bringing Bemis home, and giving the Buckeyes the 4-2 lead. Minnesota would make things interesting as they loaded the bases in both of the B8 and B9, but they would only get 1 run out of those opportunities as Ohio State held on for the 4-3 series opening win. Starting pitcher Kuzniewski earned the win, bringing him to 2-1, as he struck out a career high 10 Gophers to 2 runs on 1 hit through 5.0 innings, and closer Ryan Zamora recorded the save, his first of the season. 

3/27/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 4 2
Minnesota 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 1

 

 

 

Game 2 on Saturday achieved the same end result, but this time without the theatrics of Friday night. The Buckeyes again got off to an immediate lead as Eckelman hit an RBI single to send Furcht home, followed by a 2-run homer by Harvey to give Ohio State an early 3-0 lead. From there, the game turned into a pitching duel until the T6 when a groundout by Harvey plated Furcht. Minnesota got on the board in the B7, but Ohio State blew the game open in the T8 as back-to-back bases loaded walks sent Bemis and Kaczmar home. Furcht then came home on a fielder's choice and Eckelman came home on a wild pitch to give the Buckeyes an 8-1 lead after 8. In the T9 Kaczmar hit an RBI single sending Grant Mangrum home. Minnesota got 2 more in the B9, but it was far too late as Ohio State would hold on for the series clinching 9-3 win. Starting pitcher Domke earned the win, bringing him up to 3-3, as he allowed 0 runs on 4 hits to 3 strikeouts through 5.2 innings. 

3/28/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 9 8 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 8 1

 

Game 3 on Sunday was back and forth, much like Friday night. This time, Minnesota got off to an early 2-0 lead with 1 in each of the B1 and B2, but Ohio State's defense kept it close until the offense could get going. The BaseBucks got on the board in the T5 when Lee Ellis scored on an RBI single by Vandenheuvel. Then back-to-back solo shots by Kaczmar and Furcht in the T6 gave the Buckeyes the lead, and Ellis hit a solo shot a couple batters later to extend the lead to 4-2. Minnesota took the lead back with a 3-run home run in the B6, but Ohio State immediately responded in the T7 as a 2-RBI double by Eckelman sent Bemis and Mangrum home to retake the lead. A sac-fly by Harvey then brought Kaczmar home, and an RBI single by Simpson sent Eckelman home to give the Buckeyes an 8-5 lead. Then, in the T8, Mason Eckelman broke the game open with a GRAND SLAM, bringing home Mangrum, Kaczmar, and Furcht to extend the lead to 12-5.

 

**GAME STILL ONGOING, WILL UPDATE WITH ENDING LATER**

 

3/29/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 4   12 12 0
Minnesota 1 1 0 0 0 3 0     5 8 1

 

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