UC's Kerrington Cross had a fantastic weekend for the Bearcats (Photo by UC Athletics)
Cincinnati, Xavier, and Wright State lead Ohio’s college baseball teams
In 2025, the best in Ohio are the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Xavier Musketeers, the Wright State Raiders, the Kent State Golden Flashes, and the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks!
Cincinnati (27-20, 13-11 in the Big 12)
UC had a red-hot road trip this week. To start this series, they traveled to Lawrence to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, who were 36-10 overall and 15-6 in the Big 12. Kansas was ranked 25th in the country and second in the Big 12 (behind only 16th-ranked and first-place West Virginia). Cincinnati would sweep Kansas with wins of 7-2, 18-14, and 13-4.
All-star Kerrington Cross led UC. In the series, Cross was 9 of 17, with 6 hits, 3 home runs, and 11 runs batted in. The home runs and ten RBIs came on Saturday in Cincinnati’s 18-14 shootout win. Cross is batting .412 with 68 hits, 11 home runs, 7 doubles, 3 triples, and 38 walks. His on-base percentage is .535. Cross and the Bearcats travel to Oklahoma to play Oral Roberts on Tuesday before heading further south for a weekend series against TCU. Cincinnati is making a strong case of being the best team in Ohio!
Xavier (29-21, 13-5 in the Big East)
Xavier is fittingly the challenger to UC for that title this year. The Musketeers clinched a Big East tournament berth by taking the series from the Seton Hall Pirates. Xavier lost two games early this week but won a doubleheader on Sunday, 6-1 and 9-7. This was the fifth straight series that X as won.
The Muskies will now travel to Omaha, Nebraska, to take on the Creighton Blue Jays in a huge Big East series this weekend. The winner will take first place in the conference. The city of Cincinnati, Ohio is a baseball city.
Dayton (24-25, 12-12 in the Atlantic 10)
The Dayton-Wright State game was cancelled this week due to the weather, so the Flyers were left with a weekend series against the Richmond Spiders. Richmond won game one on Friday, 9-2. Saturday’s game was moved to Sunday because of rain, and Sunday became a doubleheader. The Flyers won the first game of the doubleheader, 10-2. The rubber match was a one-sided loss for Dayton. They fell 15-1, losing the series two games to one.
Next, the Flyers will have a weekend series in New York against Fordham before hosting the regular season finale series the following weekend against St. Bonaventure. Right now, Dayton is the last team in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. They’ll need a strong showing in their last six games to maintain that spot.
Wright State (30-15, 21-3 in the Horizon League)
The rivalry game between the Raiders and Flyers was cancelled due to bad weather so Wright State only played Youngstown State in a weekend series this week. Wright State crushed YSU in Friday’s doubleheader. They won the first game 20-8, the second 12-4, and the finale 12-8. The sweep secured their seventh straight Horizon League regular season championship.
Next, the Raiders will host the Norse of Northern Kentucky in another big conference series. Wright State will look to maintain its big lead in Horizon League play over second-placed NKU.
Youngstown State (12-34, 9-15 in the Horizon League)
The Penguins’ rough season continued to go poorly. The weather caused a shuffling of schedules, and they played a doubleheader on Friday and the final game on Sunday. It couldn’t have been much worse for YSU as they lost both games by a combined score of 44-20. This week, they’ll travel to Toledo for a Tuesday game before hosting their final home series of the 2025 season over the weekend against Oakland.
Ohio State (11-33, 3-21 in the Big Ten)
Ohio State’s weeknight game against Central Michigan was cancelled due to severe weather. The Buckeyes gave that team up north hitting practice on Saturday morning. They were destroyed 23-1. Sunday continued the shuffling of games due to stormy and rainy weather. It didn’t help the Buckeyes, who, after getting a 3-0 lead, were outscored 11-1 to lose the first game of the doubleheader, 11-4. They would drop the final 13-3. The Buckeyes will take on the Bobcats this Tuesday in a game between two teams who seem to just want this season to end. Things are just bad for Ohio State right now. Ohio State will have a series over the weekend against Northwestern.
Ohio (11-34, 6-18 in the MAC)
The Bobcats had a weekend series against Akron. They dropped the series to the Zips, losing the first two games before winning the final game, 10-5. They’ll travel up to Columbus on Tuesday for a weeknight game with Ohio State. After their game with their fellow embattled in-state team, they’ll host Ball State in a weekend series. It will be a tough one as Ball State is currently tied for first place in the MAC, and Ohio finds themselves dead last.
Akron (16-31, 9-18 in the MAC)
While the Zips are struggling this year as well, they are happy with their series win over Ohio. They won the first game 8-6, the second 9-4, before dropping the final. Like, Ohio they’ll have a tall task this week when they play the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks are tied with Ball State for first place in the conference. They’ll travel to Butler County and play the Redhawks in Oxford.
Kent State (31-15, 18-6 in the MAC)
Kent State had a good week, winning three of their four games. The beat Pitt-Johnstown 12-2 and then had a weekend series against Ball State. The Golden Flashes took the series, winning two of three games. They won the first game 20-8, lost the second game 2-1, and won the finale 10-6. Taking the series from Ball State vaulted Kent State into a three way tie for first place in the MAC. Ken State, Ball State, and Miami (Ohio) are all tied for first.
This week, they’ll have a three-game weekend series against Western Michigan. The Broncos are 16-27 overall and 11-13 in the MAC.
Miami (Ohio) (26-20, 18-6 in the MAC)
The Redhawks had a solid week in a slate of out of conference games. They battled Xavier in a border war between Butler and Hamilton Counties. Miami prevailed beating Xavier 10-8. They then head south to Birmingham, Alabama to play Samford. Miami won the first game 7-1 and lost the second game 8-1. The third game was cancelled so the Redhawks won two of their three games this past week and it was enough for them to clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
Next for men from Oxford is a trip to Richmond, Kentucky, to play Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday before hosting Akron this coming weekend.
Toledo (22-26, 12-12 in the MAC)
Toledo had a good week. On Wednesday they beat Oakland 8-5 and then headed into their series with rival Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75. Toledo dropped the first game, but won both games of their doubleheader on Saturday. They won the first game 8-3 and the second 8-1. This not only won the series against their crosstown rival but also keeps Toledo’s hopes for playing in the MAC Tournament alive.
The Rockets will host Youngstown State on Tuesday before traveling to DeKalb, Illinois for a weekend series against Northern Illinois.
Bowling Green (30-16, 17-10 in the MAC)
The Falcons went 2-2 this week. They beat Findlay on Wednesday, 6-3. They beat Toledo on Friday, 8-3. The Rockets then took the final two games and the series from the Falcons, and Bowling Green’s five-game winning streak ended with two losses. The good news is that the Falcons clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament with their win over Toledo on Friday!
This week will be one of non-conference games as they take on Butler on Tuesday before a weekend series against Notre Dame.
