Homers rained in Ohio as the Buckeyes and Bearcats launched bombs!
Homers rained in Ohio as the Buckeyes and Bearcats launched bombs!
Ohio State 10-12 (1-5 in the Big Ten)
Ohio State got a much-needed road win on Wednesday in a battle between the 614 and the 513. It went into extra innings, but Ohio State beat Xavier, 8-4, in Cincinnati. Shortstop Henry Kaczmar led the way for the Buckeyes with three hits and two runs batted in. Ohio State was back in action Friday, and they went off against a struggling Butler squad. The Buckeyes were led by sophomore pitcher Gavin Kuzniewski. Kuzniewski pitched a complete-game shutout in Ohio State’s 11-0 victory in seven innings.
The Buckeyes did what they should have against a team like Butler, who has won only five games this season. Ohio State blasted them on Saturday, 13-3. The Bucks swept Butler on Sunday with the 14-4 win. Ohio State won all three games against Butler in seven innings, outscoring the Bulldogs, 38-7! The Buckeye bats were booming bombs, too. Ohio State had six home runs against Butler, including two grand slams.
Alex Bemis, Ohio State’s left fielder, had a great week. Bemis had a home run on Saturday and two home runs on Sunday, including a grand slam. Shortstop Henry Kaczmar had one on Sunday, and DH Dane Harvey had two on Saturday, including a grand slam of his own. The Buckeyes will play at Wright State tomorrow as they try to get their winning streak to five games, followed by a series this weekend in Minneapolis against Minnesota.
Ohio State also honored the late great Zach Farmer over the weekend. His father, Larry, threw out the first pitch on Sunday, honoring his son, who was an Ohio State pitcher taken from his family too soon back in 2015. Zach Farmer passed away after a courageous fight against leukemia.
Cincinnati 19-7 (3-3 in the Big 12)
The Bearcats got their third win in five games in the state of Utah. They defeated Utah Valley, 6-3. Bearcat bruiser Quinton Coats hit his nation-leading 15th home run of the season in Tuesday’s victory. Cincy got their third straight win on Friday, defeating Utah 13-4 in the Queen City. It was on Friday, however, that the fireworks went off in Cincinnati, Ohio.
UC trailed 6-1 early, when Coats happened. Coats would get his 16th home run of the season, and that would make the score 6-4 and start the Bearcat rally. In the fourth inning, Coats would hit another dinger, which would pull Cincinnati even with Utah at 7-7. Coats would get his third of the game to make it 13-10, Bearcats.
Jack Natili also sent three out of the stadium on Saturday, and UC would be UU, 20-10. Utah would prevent the sweep on Sunday, weathering a UC comeback and winning 13-11 in the final inning. Cincinnati clobbered 10 home runs in their five games this week. The Bearcats end their eight games with the state of Utah with a 5-3 record. UC will play in the Crosstown Shootout at Xavier tomorrow. They’ll follow that up with a weekend series at home against Kansas.
Xavier 7-18 (0-0 in the Big East)
After defeating the Buckeyes in Columbus last week, the Musketeers had the favor returned to them in this week’s game in Cincinnati. Ohio State won, 8-4. The Muskies bounced back in a big way on Friday against Wofford. X defeated Wofford 8-1.
Unfortunately, Xavier’s success was short-lived. They fell hard on Saturday as Wofford beat them 14-2 in Xavier’s own ballpark. Sunday was only slightly better, as Xavier lost again, this time by a score of 8-5. The Musketeers will host Crosstown Shootout rival Cincinnati tomorrow. This weekend, they will head northeast for a series at UConn.
Dayton 14-9 (2-4 in the Atlantic 10)
While their basketball counterparts were fighting in the NCAA Tournament and in the NIT, the Flyers and RedHawks battled on the baseball diamond in Oxford. Dayton fell, 13-7. Dayton’s struggles continued on Friday against VCU. The Flyers fell, 17-7. This was their fifth loss in their last six games. They’d get their third loss in a row on Saturday, falling 5-2 to VCU. Dayton battled back on Saturday and avoided the sweep. The Flyers shot it out with VCU, winning 14-12. Dayton will host Miami tomorrow before hitting the road and heading to North Carolina. There, they will have a three-game weekend series against Davidson.
Wright State 8-12 (3-0 in the Horizon League)
Wright State’s game against Kent State on Tuesday was scheduled because of bad weather. The Raiders were scheduled to play at Milwaukee this weekend to open Horizon League play, but the location was changed to Dayton because of the late surge of bad weather the Midwest has been experiencing. The home team got a much-needed win in league play against Milwaukee. Wright State won 8-4. The visit from 4-15 Milwaukee was just what the Raiders needed. Wright State took the second game of their series on Saturday, 8-3. Sunday, the game was tighter down the stretch, but WSU won on a walk-off walk, which clinched the series sweep with a 6-5 win. Wright State will host Ohio State tomorrow, followed by a series this weekend against Oakland.
Youngstown State 3-17 (1-2 in the Horizon League)
YSU’s Wednesday game in Pittsburgh was cancelled due to bad weather. The Penguins got back into action on Friday at Georgetown. It was a defensive struggle, but YSU got their third win of the year in a 3-2 victory over the Hoyas. Georgetown would recover with a 7-2 win on Saturday, and take the series from Youngstown State with a 6-3 win on Sunday. Youngstown State will continue their long road trip this week. Tomorrow they will play at Eastern Michigan, Wednesday at Pittsburgh, and then head to Highland Heights, Kentucky, across the Ohio River to play Northern Kentucky for a weekend series.
Ohio 5-19 (3-6 in the MAC)
Ohio’s game at Morehead State was cancelled on Wednesday because of bad weather. Ohio’s rough season continued on Friday in Northwest Ohio with a 7-3 loss to Bowling Green. The Bobcats got right on Saturday with an 8-5 victory. Ohio’s 7-3 win on Sunday gave the Bobcats the series as well. Ohio’s two wins against Bowling Green were their first back-to-back wins of the 2026 season, and gave them their first series win of the 2026 season. Ohio will play at Ball State this weekend with three games against the Cardinals.
Kent State 18-4 (8-1 in the MAC)
The Golden Flashes’ Tuesday matchup against Wright State was cancelled due to the cold weather in Ohio. Kent State rolled to a huge win on Friday, defeating UMass on the road, 14-3. The Golden flashes followed up that win with another on Saturday, this time beating the Minutemen, 9-3. Sunday’s game was more closely contested, but Kent State again prevailed, this time 9-8.Kent State’s sweep of UMass gave them their eighth straight win of the season and their 13th win in their last 14 games! Slugger Sawyer Solitaria hit his eighth home run of the season against UMass this weekend for the Golden Flashes, too! Kent State will host Pittsburgh tomorrow before welcoming Miami (Ohio) to town this weekend. This pivotal MAC series will be three games between the Golden Flashes and the RedHawks.
Akron 10-12 (4-5 in the MAC)
Akron’s Tuesday game against Mercyhurst was cancelled due to bad weather. When they got back into action on Friday, they got their 10th win of the season by beating Eastern Michigan on the road, 7-3. Akron couldn’t keep their momentum going on Saturday, falling 9-8 in a nailbiter to even the series. EMU would send Akron packing with its second straight loss on Sunday, 6-2. Akron will play at Mercyhurst tomorrow in Erie before returning home for a three-game weekend series against the Toledo Rockets.
Miami (Ohio) 14-8 (5-4 in the MAC)
Their basketball brothers won a big game on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, but the RedHawks baseball team won in resounding fashion against the Dayton Flyers in Oxford on Wednesday. Miami beat UD, 13-7, in their midweek matchup. The RedHawks got into a shootout on Friday that went into extra innings, but they lost a heartbreaker as NIU hit a walk-off grand slam to get the 17-13 victory. The RedHawks bats were quiet on Saturday, as they barely avoided a shutout, falling 5-1 to the Huskies. Miami lost their third straight and were swept by Northern Illinois on Sunday, stumbling with a 6-4 loss. This was a very winnable road trip for Miami, and getting swept against NIU could come back to haunt them down the road. The RedHawks will play at Dayton tomorrow and then head to northeast Ohio to play at Kent State for three games.
Toledo 10-11 (6-3 in the MAC)
The Rockets’ Tuesday matchup in Ann Arbor was postponed to next Wednesday, March 25th. Toledo got back into action on Friday, getting their 10th win of the year by defeating Central Michigan, 10-1. CMU returned the favor with a beatdown of their own on Saturday, shooting down the Rockets, 18-7. Sunday, in the decisive contest of the series, CMU won with a walk-off and gave Toledo their second straight loss. Toledo will play at Butler tomorrow, make up their game against UM on Wednesday up there, and then play three games this weekend at Akron.
Bowling Green 6-14 (3-6 in the MAC)
BGSU hosted Ohio over the weekend. The Falcons got the weekend off to a good start with a 7-0 victory over the struggling Bobcats. Bowling Green couldn’t put together two wins in a row, however, and they lost 8-5 on Saturday. Sunday was no better as BGSU lost the game to Ohio, 7-3, and thereby lost the series. Tomorrow, BGSU will host Tiffin, and then Findlay on Wednesday, before hitting the road for the weekend. They’ll play three games at Northern Illinois over the weekend.
Ohio Power Rankings
- Cincinnati 19-7 (3-3 in the Big 12)
- Kent State 18-4 (8-1 in the MAC)
- Miami (Ohio) 14-8 (5-4 in the MAC)
- Dayton 14-9 (2-4 in the Atlantic 10)
- Ohio State 10-12 (1-5 in the Big Ten)
- Toledo 10-11 (6-3 in the MAC)
- Akron 10-12 (4-5 in the MAC)
- Wright State 8-12 (3-0 in the Horizon League)
- Xavier 7-18 (0-0 in the Big East)
- Ohio 5-19 (3-6 in the MAC)
- Bowling Green 6-14 (3-6 in the MAC)
- Youngstown State 3-17 (1-2 in the Horizon League)
Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week
Alex Bemis of Ohio State and Quinton Coats of Cincinnati had spectacular weeks. They’re sharing the player of the week for the great way they’ve played over the last week. Alex Bemis, from Monroe, Ohio, right here in Butler County, is the Buckeyes’ leftfielder. In their four wins this past week he had 7 hits, 11 runs batted in, and two home runs, including a grand slam.
Quinton Coats is the best hitter in college baseball right now. He leads the nation with 18 home runs after his big week. He had 8 hits, 9 runs batted in, and 4 home runs as UC won three of their four games this past week.
