Around The Oval: Ohio State Sweeps the Weekend As Baseball, Men's Volleyball, Women's Lacrosse and More Win Games on Saturday and Sunday

By Chase Brown on February 19, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Ohio State Baseball
Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
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What a weekend for the Buckeyes.

As Ohio State president Ted Carter posted on X, each of the Ohio State teams that competed on Saturday and Sunday defeated their opponents. From baseball to men's volleyball, women's lacrosse and women's hockey and more, the Buckeyes swept the weekend.

In this week's edition of Around The Oval, Eleven Warriors' one-stop shop for the Buckeyes' non-revenue sports, we look at wins for baseball, men's volleyball, women's lacrosse and more. 

On Saturday, we covered the second consecutive WCHA regular-season title for Ohio State women's hockey. On Monday, we will cover Ohio State men's tennis' matchup with TCU at the ITA National Indoor Championships in New York City.

Baseball

Ohio State baseball started its season on Friday at the Desert Invitational in Phoenix. After a 9-2 loss to Boston College on Opening Day – a game in which the Buckeyes' pitchers allowed 10 walks – Ohio State bounced back with wins over BYU, 7-2, and USC, 5-2, on Saturday and Sunday.

BYU

Colin Purcell and Hunter Shaw made impressive debuts on the mound for the Buckeyes. Purcell made his first career start for Ohio State and pitched five innings, collecting four strikeouts and allowing one earned run on five hits. Shaw relieved Purcell in the sixth and closed the game out for the Buckeyes, fanning six batters and allowing one run and one hit to the Cougars.

Ohio State's offensive production came from Henry Kaczmar, Tyler Pettorini and Nick Giamarusti. Kaczmar collected three hits, three RBI, one walk and one run scored for the Buckeyes, while Pettorini recorded three hits and two RBI. Giamarusti, a transfer from John A. Logan College, homered in his first plate appearance for Ohio State.

USC

Ohio State needed a couple more arms to defeat USC on Sunday, as Gavin Bruni, Gavin DeVooght, Blaine Wink and Justin Eckhardt took the mound for the Buckeyes. Bruni started and pitched five innings with six strikeouts, three hits, two runs and one earned run. From there, DeVooght, Wink and Eckhardt slammed the door on the Trojans, keeping them off the board in the final four frames to help Ohio State hold onto its 5-2 win.

Kaczmar and Pettorini led the Buckeyes' offense for the second consecutive game. Kaczmar had one hit, one RBI and one run scored in five at-bats, while Pettorini recorded one hit, two RBI and one walk in three at-bats. Trey Lipsey also shined at the plate, collecting two base knocks and scoring one run as Ohio State's lead-off man.

Coming off those victories, Ohio State will face Grand Canyon in its final game of the Desert Invitational on Tuesday. The Buckeyes will then travel to Tempe, Arizona, for a four-game series at Arizona State from Thursday to Sunday.

Men's Volleyball

Ohio State men's volleyball secured back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over Quincy at the Covelli Center on Friday and Saturday. With the victories, the Buckeyes improved to 10-3 (4-1 MIVA) on the season and remain one of the top teams in the AVCA National Collegiate Poll after six weeks of competition.

Match 1

Daniel Hurley led the Buckeyes with 12 kills, and Noah Platfoot had 18 assists to lead both Ohio State and Quincy. MIVA Player of the Year frontrunner Jacob Pasteur (nine) and Kyle Teune (six) also recorded kills, while Pasteur (two) and Grant Strong (one) added assists. Platfoot, Cole Young and Hudson Harrison each had four blocks.

Ohio State won all three sets, 25-17, 25-13 and 25-21.

Match 2

Pasteur and Hurley led the Buckeyes with nine kills each, and Michael Wright had 32 assists and nine digs to lead both Ohio State and Quincy. Young (six) also recorded kills, while Pasteur and Strong added one assist each. Hurley and Ben Putnam collected three blocks in the contest, and Justin Howard recorded one.

Ohio State won all three sets, 25-17, 25-14, 25-20.

Ohio State has three matches this week. On Tuesday, the Buckeyes will host Purdue Fort Wayne at the Covelli Center. On Friday and Saturday, the team will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a two-game series with Queens University.

Women's Lacrosse

Last offseason, Ohio State women's lacrosse moved on from Amy Bokker after the Buckeyes went 5-12 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten competition in 2023. To replace Bokker, Ohio State hired Amanda Moore, an up-and-coming coach who started women's lacrosse at East Carolina and spent seven seasons as the Pirates' program leader.

The hire has already paid dividends for Ohio State, who is off to a 4-0 start in 2024. With over two months left in the regular season, the Buckeyes need two more victories to surpass their win total from 2023. With their recent results, Moore and her players look poised to pass that total comfortably before the Big Ten Tournament in May.

On Friday and Sunday, Ohio State defeated Youngstown State, 17-9, and Akron, 18-3, on the road. Those dominant wins came after the Buckeyes beat Kent State, 17-6, and Robert Morris, 19-3, at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium the week before.

Youngstown State

Ohio State scored the game's first eight goals, including six in the first quarter, en route to the 17-9 win at Cafaro Family Field.

Brynn Ammerman had a team-best three assists and four points for the Buckeyes. Jamie Lasda, Leah Sax, Kampbell Stone and Kate Tyack each scored twice, while Brooke Vinson and Gracie Shoup each had one goal and two assists. Casey Roberts also had two helpers.

Akron

The teams were tied at two before a nine-goal run gave Ohio State an 11-2 advantage over Akron. The Buckeyes outscored the Zips 7-1 in the second half to secure the 15-goal win at the Lee Jackson Field Complex.

Ammerman led the Buckeyes for the second consecutive game with five assists and six points. Lasda had five goals on the afternoon, while Roberts posted four points with a hat trick and an assist. Zoe Coleman, Lilli Sherman, Tyack, Sax and Stone also recorded points for Ohio State, and goalie Regan Alexander had three saves and forced three turnovers and four ground balls.

Ohio State will return to action on Friday at the University of Denver. The Buckeyes will then take a week off before a home matchup with Butler on March 2 and a road trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a battle with the Wolverines on March 7.

Other Results

  • Ohio State wrestling completed its regular season with a 38-7 win over Michigan State on Friday. The Buckeyes went 15-2 in 2023-24 and were one of the best teams in America. Tom Ryan's squad will next compete at the Big Ten Championships on March 9 and 10 in University Park, Maryland.
  • In an otherwise forgettable season for Ohio State men's hockey, the program earned two victories over No. 4 Wisconsin at Value City Arena on Friday and Saturday. The Buckeyes defeated the Badgers 3-2 (OT) in Game 1 and 3-1 in Game 2. With the victories, Ohio State improved to 11-15-4 in 2023-24.
  • Ohio State men's lacrosse is off to a 4-0 start in 2024. The Buckeyes have defeated Utah (11-8), Cleveland State (13-6), Bellarmine (10-6) and Air Force (12-4), with their most recent win coming over the Falcons in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Ohio State's next opponent will be Virginia in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers are the No. 3 team in the nation.
  • Ohio State softball traveled to Leesburg, Florida, for The Spring Games over the weekend. The Buckeyes claimed victories over Coastal Carolina (6-0) and UC Riverside (7-2) on Friday but had their Saturday and Sunday matchups with Liberty, Kansas and Southern Illinois canceled due to inclement weather.
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