Ohio State celebrates in their victory over Maryland (Photo by Ohio State Athletics)
Ohio State, Kent State, Wright State, and Miami thrived this week!
Ohio State 17-13 (7-5 in the Big Ten)
The Buckeyes kept their momentum from last week going! The Buckeyes finished March strong with a 10-5 victory over Toledo on Tuesday. Ohio picked up where they left off after their sweep of Minnesota in Big Ten play against Maryland. Ohio State won the first game of their series Friday night, 10-8.
Saturday was another close game between the Buckeyes and Terrapins. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the Buckeye bats were barraging Maryland. Players like Noah Furcht, Dane Harvey, Henry Kaczmar, Lee Ellis, Mason Eckelman, and Alex Bemis were great in the win on Saturday and in the series against Maryland. Ohio State would prevail, 14-12.
Ohio State’s pitching shone on Sunday, as the Buckeyes got the 7-0 shutout. Pierce Herrenbruck led the way with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings, and OSU got their first back-to-back Big Ten sweeps since 2009. That was the last time Ohio State won the regular-season Big Ten Championship! OSU also made the 64-team tournament field that year. I’m not saying they’ll do either in 2026, but doing things they haven’t done in 17 years is a huge step in the right direction. This week, the Bucks will battle Bowling Green on Tuesday before welcoming Penn State to town this weekend.
Cincinnati 21-13 (4-8 in the Big 12)
The week got off to a promising start for the UC Bearcats with their home victory over Horizon League powerhouse and Southwest Ohio foe, Wright State. Cincinnati beat the Raiders from the Gem City, 8-5. Power hitter Quinton Coats got his 20th home run of the season, too!
Unfortunately for UC, that would be it as far as highlights for their week would go. The Bearcats would travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys over Easter weekend. Their first game on Friday was a close 12-9 defeat, but that was the best they would do against OSU. The Cowboys would clobber the Cats, 11-3. Sunday was more of the same, with UC getting swept with the final 10-4 defeat. UC will come home to try and right the ship this week when they host Baylor in the Queen City for a three-game series. First, though, Cincy will play in the Joe Nuxhall Classic in Mason, Ohio. The Bearcats will battle their rivals from Oxford, the Miami RedHawks, on Wednesday.
Xavier 12-21 (3-3 in the Big East)
The X-Men started their week with a road win in a contested battle against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. Xavier would outlast Ball State, winning the game, 13-12. The Musketeers were powered past the Cardinals by a season-high six home runs.
Thursday’s opening game at Georgetown was a pitcher’s duel. The Muskies and the Hoyas would be tied at one each deep into extra innings. Finally, in the 12th inning, Xavier would get four runs, and their pitching would slam the door shut on Georgetown. X got the opening series win, 5-1. A couple of early home runs on Friday would once again power Xavier to victory. Xavier would win their second game against Georgetown, 11-6. This would be their fourth straight victory and would clinch the series against the Hoyas.
Saturday would be a closely contested battle, but Georgetown would avoid the sweep, breaking the 9-9 tie in the bottom of the ninth, for the 10-9 win. Xavier’s winning streak was ended, but this was easily their best week of the season, and they will look to build off it. X will play Wright State on Tuesday in Mason, Ohio. They’ll then host Villanova for three games in the Queen City.
Dayton 17-13 (5-7 in the Atlantic 10)
Dayton responded to their series loss at Davidson when they hosted Fordham this week. The Flyers got back into the win column on Friday with their 5-3 victory. On Saturday, Dayton’s bats came alive, and they pummeled Fordham, 17-9. The Flyers hit six home runs in the victory and got their fourth series win of the season.
They went for the series sweep on Sunday, looking for the series sweep, but Fordham was able to avoid it with a 5-4 win. The Flyers will head up to Toledo for a Wednesday game before returning home to resume Atlantic 10 play. This weekend’s series will be a critical Atlantic 10 battle against St. Joseph.
Wright State 14-14 (8-1 in the Horizon League)
WSU lost a tough battle in Cincinnati against the Bearcats on Tuesday. The Raiders fell, 8-5, to UC. Thursday, it looked like Wright State was going to become the owners of a three-game losing streak when Northern Kentucky jumped out to a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the third. Wright State stayed resilient and slowly battled back. They cut the lead to 5-3 after three innings. WSU took the lead 6-5 heading into the seventh. A pair of late-game home runs finished off NKU, and Wright State won, 9-5.
Friday, Wright State got off to a 4-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back. WSU would cruise to an 11-0 lead behind Patrick Fultz’s second home run against the Norse. Fultz’s second was a grand slam. Wright State would finish off NKU in the seventh with a 14-4 run-rule victory.
Saturday, Wright State got the series sweep over NKU with a 6-1 win. Pitcher Chet Lex struck out six NKU batters, and behind his big game, WSU only gave up a single run in the victory. Wright State is 9-2 in their last 11 games, including an all-important 8-1 in the Horizon League. WSU will play Xavier on Tuesday in Mason, Ohio. The Raiders will then have a road trip to Youngstown to take on the YSU Penguins.
Youngstown State 5-24 (3-6 in the Horizon League)
The year has been a difficult one for Youngstown State. This week got off to that kind of start, too. In a back-and-forth game, the Penguins would ultimately fall to Northeast Ohio foe, Akron, 11-10. Their road trip to Milwaukee seemed to start out in similar fashion. They trailed 3-0 early against Milwaukee, but they battled back for a 5-3 win. They played a doubleheader, and game two started like that, too. After trailing 4-1, YSU kept on fighting. YSU would take a 6-4 lead in the sixth. They wouldn’t relinquish that lead and would get back-to-back wins for the first time in 2026 with a 7-4 victory.
Saturday, YSU couldn’t complete the sweep. They fell to Milwaukee, 5-1. The loss was rough, but this was still the best week Youngstown State has had this season. It was the first time they had a week of games without losing the majority of the games they played. YSU will host Pitt on Tuesday and then host the Wright State Raiders this weekend.
Ohio 6-25 (3-12 in the MAC)
Tuesday’s game across the Ohio River in Huntington, West Virginia, against Marshall was a battle for Ohio. The Bobcats and Thundering Herd found themselves tied, 3-3, going into the final inning of the game. A Will Henson home run gave Ohio the 5-3 lead. The Bobcats would hold onto it for the victory and start their week off with a win.
Unfortunately, the comforts of home were less friendly to Ohio as they played Kent State in Athens. The Golden Flashes are having one of the best years in the MAC, and they are playing like it. Kent State never let Ohio have a chance. The first loss of the series was 11-5, and that was as close as Ohio would get. Friday, they would drop game two, 15-1. Saturday was no better as they fell 16-2. They were outscored 42-7 in three games. The boys from Athens will host Morehead State on Tuesday before they venture to the best county in all of Ohio. They’ll visit Butler County to take on the Miami RedHawks.
Kent State 23-7 (12-3 in the MAC)
The Golden Flashes bats were electric! Kent State had a rough week last week, dropping three of their four games. They needed a big-time response this week, and boy did they get it! They ended the month of March with a bang, beating Baldwin Wallace, 16-7. They’d follow that up with a Thursday win over Ohio down in Athens. Kent State would win game one against OU, 11-5. Slugger Sawyer Solitaria would get his 100th career hit in the victory.
Ripken Reese would lead the way in the 15-1 victory on Saturday. Reese and Solitaria had fantastic weeks, and Kent State would cruise again on Sunday, and get their second 14-run win in as many days, 16-2. Their game that was originally scheduled for today against Akron was pushed back to Wednesday, yet Kent State still scored an insane 58 runs in their four wins this week! The Golden Flashes will travel west for a three-game series against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Akron 13-17 (5-10 in the MAC)
Akron followed in UC’s footsteps in starting the week well and falling hard down the stretch of it. Its good starting moment was a close shave, too. Akron did, however, battle back and pulled off the 11-10 win. The battle between the Northeastern Ohio teams was a must-win for the Zips, given how rough the season has been for YSU.
But that was as good as it got this week for Akron. They had an opportunity against another team in the MAC that had been struggling this season, but it was Bowling Green who capitalized. BGSU won 6-2 on Thursday, 9-8 on Friday, and finally 9-6 on Saturday. Their game against Kent State, which was scheduled for today, was moved to Wednesday, and Wednesday’s game at Pitt was postponed to next week. Akron will also play West Virginia Wesleyan on Tuesday and follow that up with a series at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana.
Miami (Ohio) 20-10 (10-5 in the MAC)
Tuesday night’s game against the #24 Kentucky Wildcats was a battle. The score went back-and-forth early, with Miami taking a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Kentucky would ultimately complete the comeback, and Miami would fall, 14-11. Things got better for the RedHawks when they got back to Ohio and the comforts of home in Oxford.
On Thursday, they began their series against Ball State, and they began it with a bang. Miami would crush Ball State, ending the game in seven innings, 14-4. The beatdown would continue on Friday, this time with an emphatic 20-4 win. Saturday, Ball State would make the contest much closer, but Miami would complete the series sweep with a 7-6 victory. Led by star Tommy Harrison, the RedHawks got the sweep in an all-important MAC series. The RedHawks will play UC in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Wednesday, then Miami will host Ohio this weekend for a three-game series.
Toledo 15-15 (11-4 in the MAC)
The Rockets’ week got off to a rough start with their 10-5 loss at Ohio State. Toledo didn’t let the loss keep them grounded, though, as they hosted Eastern Michigan for three games. UT won the first game decisively, 10-2. When Friday rolled around, the weather forecast for the weekend made it necessary to finish the series in a doubleheader. The first game of it was a low-scoring, but Toledo secured the series with a 6-4 win.
The final and later game of Friday was much more one-sided, and it was so in Toledo’s favor. The Rockets relentlessly smashed Eastern Michigan. Toledo’s 14-run bottom of the fifth inning was particularly brutal. UT had two grand slams in that inning, and they would win 23-8 in seven innings. The Rockets’ victories in the MAC have them in an advantageous position in the conference standings at 11-4. Toledo will head back up north to battle Oakland tomorrow. They’ll then host Dayton on Wednesday, and follow that up with a weekend series at Western Michigan.
Bowling Green 11-17 (7-8 in the MAC)
The Falcons’ game against Oakland on Tuesday was canceled due to severe weather. Their series against Akron got off to a great start on Tuesday, with their 6-2 victory over the Zips. Like their rivals in Toledo, the Falcons had their remaining two games pushed into a doubleheader on Friday.
Akron took the first game, getting a one-run, 9-8 victory. BGSU would complete the series sweep before the day was done, getting the second win, 9-6. Tomorrow, BGSU will head south to the state capitol to play the Buckeyes. They’ll then return home to host Central Michigan.
Ohio Power Rankings
- Kent State 23-7 (12-3 in the MAC)
- Miami (Ohio) 20-10 (10-5 in the MAC)
- Ohio State 17-13 (7-5 in the Big Ten)
- Cincinnati 21-13 (4-8 in the Big 12)
- Dayton 17-13 (5-7 in the Atlantic 10)
- Wright State 14-14 (8-1 in the Horizon League)
- Toledo 15-15 (11-4 in the MAC)
- Akron 13-17 (5-10 in the MAC)
- Xavier 12-21 (3-3 in the Big East)
- Bowling Green 11-17 (7-8 in the MAC)
- Ohio 6-25 (3-12 in the MAC)
- Youngstown State 5-24 (3-6 in the Horizon League)
Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week
Some big-time stars of Ohio had monster games this week. Ohio State shortstop Henry Kaczmar came up big with 8 hits, 8 runs batted in, and 4 runs scored in Ohio State’s four wins. Kent State’s bash brothers of Ripken Reese and Sawyer Solitaria were fantastic in their four wins. Reese had 10 hits and 8 RBIs, and Solitaria had 6 hits and 10 RBIs. It was Miami’s outfielder, Tommy Harrison, who shone the brightest. Harrison had 8 hits, including 3 home runs, one of which was a grand slam, and batted in a whopping 13 runs for the RedHawks.
