Wright State baseball (Photo by Wright State Athletics)
Nine of the twelve Division I Ohio baseball teams will play in the postseason this year!
Another pivotal week faced baseball teams across Ohio, and many of them answered the call and will keep playing baseball in 2025!
Ohio State (13-37, 5-25 in the Big Ten)
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ game against Butler on Tuesday was cancelled because of rain. Thursday night was no picnic either as the Bucks fell to Illinois, 4-3. Ohio State was clobbered early Friday evening, 18-9. The Buckeyes were locked to finish in last place in the Big Ten for a while now. Mercifully, Ohio State’s season came to an end on Saturday, and the Buckeyes’ seniors came up big on Senior Day to end the season on at least a small positive note of a ten-inning, 11-10 walk-off win over Illinois.
Cincinnati (31-23, 16-14 in the Big 12)
The Bearcats’ game against Indiana was cancelled on Tuesday due to the weather. But Cincinnati started off the series against Kansas State right with a 7-4 win at home! Friday’s game was played early because of a Midwestern storm, and UC again scored seven runs in their 7-0 victory. The Bearcats won the series but dropped the finale on Saturday, 9-5. Next up for the Cats is the Big 12 Tournament. They’ll head to Arlington, Texas, to play at Globe Life Field starting this Wednesday.
Xavier (31-25, 14-7 in the Big East)
The Musketeers ate a tough opening loss to Penn State on Thursday, losing by a score of 7-1. Xavier bounced back on Friday, giving a much better performance in game two, but still fell to Penn State, this time 7-6. The Muskies ended the series on a positive note with an 8-6 win. Xavier will now have a massive home field advantage for the Big East Tournament when Creighton, UConn, and St. John’s come to Greater Cincinnati on Wednesday. I’m excited for the Big East champion to be crowned in Cincy this week!
Dayton (26-29, 14-16 in the Atlantic 10)
The Flyers fell in the first game of their series against St. Bonaventure on Thursday, 8-4. Dayton fell again on Friday, this time, 11-4. On Saturday, the Flyers avoided the sweep and ended the season on a positive note on Senior Day in Dayton by beating St. Bonaventure 21-11. This win made Dayton’s season. It put the Flyers in a three-way tie for the seventh and final spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Flyers were tied with Richmond (33-19, 14-16) and George Washington (27-27, 14-16). The Flyers were 4-2 against George Washington and Richmond, while Richmond was 2-4 and George Washington was 3-3. That tie breaker sends Dayton to Virginia!
Wright State (34-18, 25-5 in the Horizon League)
Wright State fell to Kent State on Tuesday on the road in northeast Ohio. Thursday, they just had batting practice with Purdue-Fort Wayne, unfortunately, though the Raiders couldn’t win with this 21-17 football score. Friday, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Wright State lit up the scoreboard again, with the Raiders coming out on top in the 23-11 victory. The Raiders wrapped up this explosive series with a 20-9 win on Saturday. Wright State outscored Purdue-Fort Wayne 60-40 in just three games! The Raiders are the Horizon League regular season champions and will host the Horizon League Tournament beginning on Wednesday.
Youngstown State (14-40, 11-19 in the Horizon League)
YSU fell to Akron on Tuesday night. Thursday night they travel to Northern Kentucky and fell 14-8 against the Norse. Friday, the NKU bats hit hard again, this time with a 12-4 win over YSU. The Penguins took one on the chin to wrap up the series on Saturday, falling 23-4. The Penguins head to Dayton, Ohio, next for the Horizon League Tournament.
Ohio (14-37, 9-21 in the MAC)
The Bobcats took game one on Thursday against WMU, 11-9. Ohio left no doubt on Friday. The Bobcats beat the Broncos, 12-1. WMU closed out the series with a massive 17-4 win on Saturday, but in taking the series, they eliminated WMU from the postseason. That’s the only silver lining to Ohio finishing 2025 last in the MAC.
Kent State (37-16, 23-7 in the MAC)
Kent State beat Wright State 9-8 in a great home game between the two league leaders on Tuesday night. The Golden Flashes were then on the other end of a nail-biter like that one. They lost 12-11 on Thursday to EMU in 12 innings. Friday was another nail-biter, but Kent State prevailed again. This time they won, 6-5. In the rubber match on Saturday, Kent State closed their regular season with a 13-2 win. They are now regular-season co-champions with Miami (Ohio). The MAC Tournament now awaits the Golden Flashes.
Akron (20-34, 9-21 in the MAC)
The Zips defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 8-6, on Tuesday night at home in Akron. They then beat Mercyhurst 14-8 on Thursday. In a tighter game on Friday, they won 2-0. Saturday, Akron completed the sweep of Mercyhurst with a 5-1 win. The Zips finish second to last in the MAC ahead of only Ohio, but they ended the season on a positive four-game winning streak as they turn to 2026.
Miami (Ohio) (32-21, 23-7 in the Big Ten)
On the road in the Red Bird Rivalry, the Redhawks prevailed over Ball State, 4-3, in their first game on Thursday. Ball State struck back on Friday with a 14-9 win. Saturday, in the series-deciding game, the bats of both Red Bird teams were alive and well. The Redhawks took the series and the regular season MAC Championship with their massive 26-15 win over Ball State. Miami has made this Butler County boy proud this year!
Toledo (28-27, 17-13 in the MAC)
The Rockets’ game against rival Bowling Green was cancelled due to rainy weather. Toledo then rocketed CMU to Mars with a 21-3 pounding in game one on Thursday. Things were a little more time on Friday with Toledo beating the Chippewas 11-5. Toledo completed the sweep on Saturday with an emphatic 16-4 win over CMU. The MAC Tournament is up next for the Rockets.
Bowling Green (33-20, 19-11 in the MAC)
The Falcons’ game against Toledo was cancelled due to rain. Their series opener against NIU was a 14-8 loss. The Falcons evened the series on Friday with a 5-4 victory. Bowling Green clinched the series with a 4-2 win on Saturday and now looks forward to the MAC Tournament.
Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, and Bowling Green will compete with each other and Ball State and Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament. The tournament begins this Wednesday in Avon, Ohio (Greater Cleveland) at Crushers Stadium. The Big East tournament will be played in Mason, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati), and Xavier will be there in the midst of it on Wednesday. Finally, the Horizon League Tournament will be in Fairborn, Ohio (Greater Dayton). Cincinnati and Dayton are the only Ohio teams in the postseason this year that will start it outside of the Buckeye State. The Cats will be in Arlington, Texas and the Flyers in Tysons, Virginia for the Big 12 and A10 Tournaments, respectively.
