During the Buckeyes’ last regular-season game, they celebrated Senior Day by honoring five of their own: right-hander Joe Gahm, lefty Patrick Murphy, first baseman Conner Pohl, outfielder Scottie Seymour and right-hander Jake Vance.
Ohio State (22-20) fell to Northwestern (15-21) in an upsetting loss 8-2, which concluded the weekend series the Buckeyes ultimately won.
The Buckeyes were unable to capitalize and left nine runners on base, including bases-loaded situations in both the fourth and fifth innings, allowing the Wildcats to run away with the victory.
“I don’t know how many guys we left on base, it might have been double digits, I’m guessing,” head coach Greg Beals said.
Junior shortstop Zach Dezenzo, freshman center fielder Kade Kern and Pohl led Ohio State with four of the team’s seven hits. Dezenzo went 2-for-5 and scored a pair of runs, while Kern and Pohl drove in one run each and were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team earlier in the day.
Freshman right-hander Nate Haberthier, who made his first-career start,allowed a solo home run to junior shortstop Shawn Goosenberg in the first inning, but came back to hand a strikeout to sophomore designated hitter Stephen Hrustich and finish the frame.
In the bottom half of the inning, Pohl connected on an RBI single that allowed Dezenzo to score from second base.
The Buckeyes allowed two runs to score in the top of the second inning when sophomore third baseman Evan Minarovic singled to left field. Senior left fielder Leo Caplan trotted home from third base while freshman second baseman Tony Livermore slid in safely as redshirt senior catcher Brent Todys couldn’t come up with Seymour’s throw, allowing the second run to score unearned.
An inning later, Hrustich hit a 2-run homer against Haberthier, scoring Goosenberg who drew a full-count walk to leadoff the frame.
The Buckeyes missed a huge opportunity in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out for Seymour. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Seymour battled back and drove a 2-2 offering to Goosenberg who flipped the ball to second and kickstarted a rally-killing double play..
The Wildcats added to their lead in the sixth inning when junior right-hander Bayden Root allowed the first three hitters to reach base. Gahm relieved Root, and immediately forced a fielder’s choice that scored freshman right fielder Ethan O’Donnell from third. Two batters later, Goosenberg struck out against Gahm, but reached base on a dropped third strike, which allowed Kaplan to race home and score Northwestern’s second run of the inning — all without collecting a hit.
Ohio State chiseled away at its deficit when Kern doubled down the left infield line in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Dezenzo scored from first base to close the lead to 8-2.
Vance, who made his first appearance of the season, came on to begin the top of the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Goosenberg, and junior catcher Michael Trautwein drove him in with a single two batters later.
Although it was not the way Ohio State wanted to end its season, Beals said his team has come a long way despite the constant worry of COVID-19 and its impact on games.
“You can say that not getting the Minnesota series hurt us, hurt the flow of our season,” Beals said. “That series could’ve been a real boost to our club from a record standpoint, but from a morale standpoint as well. But you can’t make excuses on that. It didn’t happen. We had our chances to win games.”
Both teams combined to throw 14 pitches in a bona-fide bullpen game. Haberthier struck out four across three innings, scattering five hits and five runs.
This team, unlike those that have come before, had to adjust to strict guidelines to play this season, and Beals said they showed perseverance in the face of constant adversity.
“They did everything that we asked them to do,” Beals said. “We all love the game of baseball and love this program and this brotherhood, more so than we dislike anything that anybody asked us to do.”
Photos by Mackenzie Shanklin
