Ohio State swept #16 Nebraska! (Photo by Ohio State Athletics)
Ohio State, Kent State, and Cincinnati have big weeks for Ohio!
Ohio State 24-21 (13-11 in the Big Ten)
The Buckeyes got off to a great start in the month of May! After dropping two straight Big Ten series on the road, on to Purdue and one to Rutgers, Ohio State was glad to be back in Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus. The level of competition would remain high as Ohio State welcomed Nebraska to Nick Swisher Field. The series against the #16 Cornhuskers began on Friday, and it was a pitcher’s duel. Buckeye pitcher Gavin Kuzniewski would go eight innings and only give up a single run. Ryan Zamora would come on in the ninth inning and would get the save as Ohio State beat Nebraska 2-1.
Ohio State would go for the series win on Saturday. Dane Harvey and Mason Eckelman would each hit a home run, and the Buckeyes would win, 7-3. The victory would give OSU the series win over #16 Nebraska and get Ohio State back on track after a rough couple of weeks in the Big Ten.
OSU got the sweep on Sunday, with a 10-1 win! The Buckeyes smacked seven home runs in the win over Nebraska! The Buckeyes will play their next eight games in Columbus, starting with Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, followed up by three games against Michigan State.
Cincinnati 32-17 (13-11 in the Big 12)
UC and Houston’s Friday game got moved to Saturday because of bad weather. The Bearcats took the first part of the doubleheader, 3-2. Nathan Taylor got the win and struck out 11 Houston batters while only allowing two runs. Cincinnati stayed hot on Saturday and clobbered Houston in the second game of the day, 8-1. Conlan Daniel and Enzo Infelsie each homered in the victory.
Sunday saw another low-scoring battle like Friday between Houston and Cincinnati, as the teams were tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning. Derrick Pitts was the hero for the Bearcats! His home run in the ninth inning and his RBI in extra innings gave the Bearcats the 4-3 win and the sweep! UC will stay on the road, playing at Oral Roberts on Tuesday, and then a weekend series at Kansas State.
Xavier 22-27 (10-5 in the Big East)
X opened the week with a win at the MAC leaders, Miami RedHawks in Oxford, Ohio. After the 10-7 victory, Xavier had the unenviable task of playing on the road at one of the best teams in college baseball. But the Musketeers made lemonade! Xavier may have had the single most impressive win by any Ohio team this week. The Musketeers went down to Atlanta, Georgia, and managed to upset the #3 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, 8-4!
Saturday, Xavier fought to take a series from a top-three team. Georgia Tech took the second game of the series in a 7-5 game. The Yellowjackets took the series with a 14-6 win on Sunday. Still, Xavier should be proud of being competitive and getting a win from a 39-8 and #3-ranked team in their house. On Tuesday, Xavier will host UM before they head up to Indianapolis for a weekend series against Butler.
Dayton 27-20 (11-13 in the Atlantic 10)
UD followed up their big sweep of St. Bonaventure with a win over Akron on Tuesday. The Flyers flattened the Zips, 11-4. Dayton then resumed conference play when they hosted La Salle. UD leveled La Salle in game one on Friday, 12-9, for Dayton’s fifth straight victory. Saturday, La Salle evened the series with a 6-5 upset win in the Gem City.
The rubber match on Sunday got off to a wild start! After only the first three innings, Dayton would lead La Salle, 12-11! The Flyers would keep up the airstrikes on La Salle. Dayton would score nine more runs! Michael Smith Jr. and Dyrenson Wouters would each knock in five runs, and UD would win, 21-14. This week marks the final games of the season for the Flyers in Dayton. Tomorrow they’ll play at Gem City rival, Wright State. This weekend, they’ll then host George Mason.
Wright State 22-22 (15-3 in the Horizon League)
WSU stumbled early this week. Wright State hosted the Miami RedHawks on Wednesday, and Miami won, 14-7. The Raiders got back in the saddle quickly, though, and went up north to play Oakland. Wright State would win the opening game of the series against the Golden Grizzlies, 8-4, on Friday. A five-run sixth inning would power the Raiders to victory.
Wright State would clinch the series on Saturday with a 6-1 win. WSU’s Griffen Paige was money from the pitcher’s mound. He went for seven innings and only allowed a single run. The Raiders went for the sweep on Sunday and got it emphatically. A 16-2 run-rule victory in seven innings put Oakland away. Wright State will play Dayton tomorrow for the final time this season. They’ll then play a weekend series just a short drive down the road at Northern Kentucky.
Youngstown State 10-36 (7-11 in the Horizon League)
The rough season for the Youngstown State Penguins marched on this week. It started well with YSU taking the first game on Friday with an 11-6 victory. Scoring 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings powered the Penguins past Northern Kentucky. NKU struck back on Saturday, shutting down Youngstown State hard with a 13-1 drubbing. This tied the series, setting a winner-take-all game on Sunday. NKU won, 7-4, taking the series. On Wednesday, YSU will host Eastern Michigan, and then a weekend series against Oakland.
Ohio 9-38 (6-21 in the MAC)
The Bobcats’ race to the bottom with Youngstown State continued as well. Ohio hosted Marshall in Athens on Wednesday and were defeated, 5-2. The Bobcats then went on the road to play at another struggling MAC team. They began a three-game series with UMass on Friday in Amherst. Ohio took the first game, 5-3, in an upset victory! UMass struck back on Saturday, securing a 9-3 win to tie the series. The series-deciding game on Sunday was a pitcher’s duel and was very low scoring. Ohio fell to UMass, 1-0, losing the game and the series. This week, Ohio will have their final home series of the season starting on Friday against the Toledo Rockets.
Kent State 35-11 (20-7 in the MAC)
The Kent State Golden Flashes started the week on the road at Pittsburgh. The Golden Flashes got the upset for the MAC, 13-5 over Pitt! They then battled their archrivals, the Akron Zips, this week. In the first game of the series on Friday, Kent State trailed, 4-3, after six innings. The Golden Flashes came alive in the seventh for five runs, winning the opening game, 8-4.
Saturday was even more decisive for Kent State as they throttled Akron, 12-1. Ciaran Caughey pitched for six innings, allowing only one run and striking out seven Akron batters. Kent State finished off the sweep on Sunday, 7-2! This weekend, Kent State will host Eastern Michigan in their final home series of the season.
Akron 20-28 (10-17 in the MAC)
There’s no two ways about it. Akron had a rough time this week. It started when they went on the road to play the Dayton Flyers in the Gem City. UD sent the Zips packing with an 11-4 defeat. Akron then had to host one of the top two teams in the MAC this season. The Zips had to face Northeast Ohio rival Kent State. The Golden Flashes gave Akron an 8-4 defeat on Friday and followed it up with a 12-1 defeat on Saturday. Akron’s winless week was finished off on Sunday by a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Kent State. This weekend, Akron will play a road series at Central Michigan.
Miami (Ohio) 32-15 (19-8 in the MAC)
The Butler County boys stumbled off the starting line this week, dropping their first game on Tuesday at home against Xavier, 10-7. Miami quickly reloaded and went up to Dayton to play Wright State. The RedHawks and Raiders had canceled a game in March and made it up on Wednesday. Miami won, doubling WSU’s score, 14-7.
The RedHawks continued north and played Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. They busted the Broncos in the opening game, 11-9, on Friday. They took game two and the series on Saturday with a 12-8 victory. On Sunday, the game was close again as Miami tried to sweep the series. Miami couldn’t maintain their two-run ninth-inning lead, and WMU would prevent the sweep with a walk-off 11-10 win. Tomorrow, the RedHawks will head to Columbus to play Ohio State. They’ll then return to Oxford to host UMass for three games.
Toledo 24-24 (18-9 in the MAC)
The Rockets picked up where they left off after going 3-2 last week. Toledo hosted Oakland from the Horizon League on Tuesday and mauled the Golden Grizzlies, 18-8. After the run-rule victory in seven innings over Oakland, Toledo welcomed Ball State to town. The Rockets continued their rampage, winning game one of the important MAC series, 8-3.
Saturday’s game was much closer, and Toledo held off a Ball State rally in the top of the ninth inning to hold on and win, 5-4. Pitchers Hayden Frey and Deron Swanson got the win and the save. On Sunday, the Rockets’ offense launched the scoreboard into orbit. The 20-3, run-rule victory in seven innings gave Toledo the series sweep and a six-game winning streak, and they have won seven of their last nine games. Toledo will host Butler tomorrow before heading to Athens for a three-game series against the Ohio Bobcats.
Bowling Green 17-29 (10-17 in the MAC)
BGSU’s week started with a rough trip to Indianapolis, where they battled Butler. The Bulldogs shut the Falcons out, handing them a 3-0 defeat. Friday, on the road against Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green still struggled to find any offense. The Falcons fell to the Eagles 6-1 in their first game. Bowling Green battled back on Saturday. With their 2-1 win, they snapped a four-game losing streak.
That success was short-lived as they lost on Sunday to EMU. The Eagles took the series from the Falcons with a 7-3 victory. BGSU will play at Michigan State tomorrow, and then will host Western Michigan for three games this weekend.
Ohio Power Rankings
- Kent State 35-11 (20-7 in the MAC)
- Miami (Ohio) 32-15 (19-8 in the MAC)
- Cincinnati 32-17 (13-11 in the Big 12)
- Ohio State 24-21 (13-11 in the Big Ten)
- Dayton 27-20 (11-13 in the Atlantic 10)
- Wright State 22-22 (15-3 in the Horizon League)
- Toledo 24-24 (18-9 in the MAC)
- Xavier 22-27 (10-5 in the Big East)
- Akron 20-27 (10-17 in the MAC)
- Bowling Green 17-29 (10-17 in the MAC)
- Youngstown State 10-36 (7-11 in the Horizon League)
- Ohio 9-38 (6-21 in the MAC)
Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week
Conlan Daniel was great for the Cincinnati Bearcats this week, but Ohio State’s Mason Eckelman was the best in the Buckeyes upset sweep of Nebraska. Eckelman had six hits, a double, a triple, seven runs batted in, and three home runs for Ohio State!
