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BaseBucks Sweep Rivalry Series, Clinch #6 Seed in Big Ten Tournament

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Bucks2K18's picture
by Bucks2K18
5/16/26 at 3:58p in the OSU Athletics Forum
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What a weekend on the diamond!! What has been a struggle for the team in recent years became a strength this weekend as Ohio State won a baseball series at TTUN for the first time since 1999 and swept them for the first time since 1994.

 

With the upcoming conference tournament, the weekend got an early start as Game 1 took place on Thursday, and while it took a little bit to get going, the Buckeyes weathered early marksmanship from the TTUN pitcher, and ended up dominating. The Wolverines drew first blood on a bases loaded HBP in the B2, but did nothing else with that opportunity as the 1-0 lead held until the T4 when Dane Harvey got the party started with a solo blast to tie the game. Ohio State then took the lead in the T5 as Henry Kaczmar hit a 2-run bomb, plating Alex Bemis, and followed two batters later as Harvey hit his second solo shot of the game to open up the game to 4-1. TTUN got 1 back in the B5, but it was ALL Buckeyes from there. In the T6, Alex Bemis hit an RBI single to send Lee Ellis home, and then Ohio State blew the game open in the T7. Noah Furcht continued the home run party with a solo shot, and then Ellis hit his own RBI-single to send Harvey home. Miles Vandenheuvel then hit a 2-RBI single, sending Maddix Simpson and Ellis home, to balloon the lead to 9-2. A sac-fly by Kaczmar brought Grant Mangrum home, and then Noah Furcht finished what he started with a huge 3-run no-doubt bomb, bringing Vandenheuvel and Bemis home to extend the lead to 13-2 and put the game in jeopardy of an early finish. Ryan Zamora then came in as only the second Buckeye pitcher of the game and did his job, getting the remaining three outs against only four batters, including catching the game-ending pop-up as Ohio State opened the series with a run-rule revenge win. Pierce Herrenbruck, who normally starts on Sundays but got the weekend start this time, earned the win after allowing only the 2 runs on 5 hits and 4 strikeouts to 2 balls through 6.0 innings, bringing him to 6-3 on the season.

5/14/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Ohio State 0 0 0 1 3 1 8 13 11 0
TTUN 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 6 0

 

 

 

Game 2 on Friday was not as flashy, but the Buckeyes did just enough to secure the first series win in Ann Arbor since 1999. This time, Ohio State drew first blood as Harvey came home on an RBI single by Ellis in the T2. TTUN took the lead with 2 in the B2, and the score held until the T5 when Mangrum hit a solo blast to tie the game. The BaseBucks then retook the lead in the T6 as Kaczmar came home on an RBI single by Harvey and then Furcht extended the lead to 4-2 as he came home on a Simpson sac-fly. TTUN got 1 back in the B6, but Ohio State opened up the game in the T8 as a 2-RBI single by Bemis plated Mason Eckelman and Ellis, and then a sac-fly by Furcht brought Mangrum home. TTUN threatened to get back in the game as they loaded the bases in the B9, but Luke Carrell came in and got the last out to seal the 7-3 win and clinch the series. Starter Gavin Kuzneiweski earned the win, bringing him up to 6-2 as he only allowed 3 runs on 4 hits through 6.0 innings. 

5/15/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 7 10 0
TTUN 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 5 0

 

The Buckeyes then found themselves in a position to sweep the series in game 3 on Saturday, and wasted little time in jumping ahead. After the first two Buckeye batters were retired in the T1, the next two were plunked, and that proved disastrous for TTUN as Simpson hit an RBI single to send Furcht home. Eckelman was then walked to load the bases, to bring up Lee Ellis who hit a bases-clearing double, plating Harvey, Simpson, and Eckelman, and giving the Buckeyes an immediate 4-0 lead. The Wolverines got 1 back in the T4, but the Buckeyes weathered the storm of the relief pitcher, and then brought the lead back to 4 after Furcht came home on a Simpson sac-fly in the T7. Ohio State added some insurance runs as four TTUN errors led to Simpson and Eckelman both getting on and around the bases, and then coming home. Following that, Vandenheuvel hit a sac-fly that brought Ellis home to stretch the lead to 8-1. Chris Domke, the only Buckeye pitcher of the day, was fantastic as he pitched a complete game, throwing 6 strikes to only 1 walk and 1 run on 3 hits through 9.0 innings,

5/16/26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ohio State 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 6 0
TTUN 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4

 

 

 

After the sweep, Ohio State improved to 29-23 (18-12), and TTUN dropped to 32-22 (17-13).

 

Up Next, Ohio State secures the 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play TBD (will update later) on Tuesday. The Buckeyes will most likely need to win the whole tournament to extend to the national tournament.

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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