The Buckeye squad embrace after a 7-4 victory against the West Virginia Mountaineers on March 17. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeye baseball squad toppled the Mountaineers with a football-like score of 26-11 on St. Patrick’s Day, taking two games out of three against West Virginia.
Ohio State (10-8, 0-0 Big Ten) and West Virginia (11-9, 2-1 Big 12) combined for 55 runs scored and 63 hits during the pair’s weekend affair Friday through Sunday.
The first game of the series featured a tremendous career-high 12-strikeout performance from sophomore southpaw Landon Beidelschies. Still, the Mountaineers prevailed, winning 5-2.
In the top of the first inning, shortstop Henry Kazcmar extended his hit streak to 15 games but was left stranded on base.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of an RBI double.
The Buckeyes took the lead in the third inning off an RBI single by Kaczmar and a score off a Mountaineer error, putting the score at 2-1.
Beidelschies continued to dominate the Mountaineers, fanning the side in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he ran into a bit of trouble in the seventh inning. An RBI groundout tied the ballgame up before a three-run jack gave West Virginia the lead, 5-2.
The Buckeyes fell short of a rally in the top of the ninth inning, and West Virginia took the series opener with a 5-2 final.
Despite a phenomenal outing by Beidelschies, he took the loss, putting his record at 2-3. Kaczmar led the Buckeyes with three hits.
On Saturday, senior Hank Thomas’ home run lifted the Buckeyes over the Mountaineers, giving the teams’ series one game apiece.
Ohio State started the game with a three-run first inning. Junior third baseman Tyler Pettorini shot a single to left field to send outfielder Trey Lipsey home, giving the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead. Catcher Matthew Graveline scored on a West Virginia error and junior transfer Nick Giamarusti hit an RBI single to give Ohio State a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Mountaineers evened the score at 3-3 off of an RBI groundout and a two-run long ball.
The fifth inning saw West Virginia score on a wild pitch, giving the Mountaineers a one-run lead over the Buckeyes, 4-3.
Giamarusti walked to lead off the top of the sixth inning and then swiped the bag at second. Head coach Bill Mosiello then proceeded to go to his bench and have Thomas pinch hit Joseph Mershon. With a three-ball and two-strike count, Thomas blasted the ball deep into the right-center field gap and over the fence for a two-RBI dinger, lifting Ohio State over the Mountaineers, 5-4.
In the seventh inning, Ohio State gained two more insurance runs off of center fielder Josh Stevenson’s RBI double down the left field line and an RBI single by Thomas, giving Thomas three runs batted in and two clutch at-bats.
Closer Justin Eckhardt finished the Mountaineers off in the bottom of the ninth, gaining his fourth save of the season and giving the Buckeyes a 7-4 victory.
The Buckeye bullpen delivered a one-run performance in five innings pitched with reliever Gavin DeVooght earning his second win of the season.
Ohio State won the rubber match on Sunday, putting up a dominating 26-run performance, the most runs in a game by the Buckeyes since 2002.
The Buckeyes again got out to a quick lead off of two RBI fielder’s choices by Pettorini and Lipsey, giving Ohio State a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, the Mountaineers stormed right back with an RBI single and an RBI groundout to tie the score 2-2.
Ohio State proceeded to gain the lead back in the top of the third. An RBI single up the middle by Graveline put the Buckeyes up by one, 3-2. Pettorini stepped up to the plate and delivered a three-run blast over the fence, extending the Buckeye lead to four. The graduate second baseman was next up and hit a home run of his own to give Ohio State a 7-2 advantage.
The Mountaineers gained two runs back in the bottom of the fourth, but Ohio State remained in the lead, 7-4.
The sixth inning saw the Buckeyes score eight runs off of six hits, extending their lead to 11. The inning featured a two-RBI single by Kaczmar, an RBI single from Lipsey, a two-RBI single from graduate captain Mitchell Okuley, a two-RBI single from Thomas and finally an RBI single from Lipsey. All contributed to a 15-4 Buckeye lead.
Ohio State added four more runs in the top of the seventh. To start the scoring off, Okuley drew a walk to send Graveline home, and Giamarusti proceeded to hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 17-4. A groundout RBI from Stevenson and an RBI ground-rule double from pinch hitter Isaac Cadena put the Buckeyes up 19-4. Cadena had his first collegiate hit on Friday’s game and followed it up with a hit on Saturday and Sunday’s games.
The Mountaineers grabbed two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Ohio State kept a demanding lead, 19-6.
A frenzy of Buckeye runs scored in the top of the eighth inning when a walk, two-hit batters, a fielder’s choice and a Giamarusti two-RBI single made the game 26-6. A 20-run lead for the Buckeyes provided many freshmen and bench players playing time.
The Mountaineers eventually cut the lead to 15 after a bases-loaded walk and a grand slam in the ninth inning, but the Buckeyes reigned supreme with a final score of 26-11.
Freshman starter Chase Herrell earned his first collegiate win for Ohio State as the Buckeye Bats provided much-needed relief for the pitching squad.
Eleven Buckeyes had hits in the game with Graveline tying his career-high with four. Pettorini led the team with five runs batted in, which puts him tied with Okuley for team lead at 18.
Kaczmar has obtained a hit in 17 of the 18 games played for the Buckeyes and currently leads the team in both hits, 26, and batting average, .361.
Ohio State raised its team batting average to .274 and dropped from first place in errors in the Big Ten after an error-less series.
The Buckeyes have their first home game of 2024 on Friday at 6 p.m., as they start their series against Georgetown University in Bill Davis Stadium.
