Ohio State junior catcher Alonzo Paul Jr. warms up before their game against Michigan State Sunday. The Buckeyes lost to the Spartans 14-4. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes’ Big Ten nightmare continues.
For the fifth time in the last six weekends, Ohio State failed to muster a win and was swept by the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan.
The Buckeyes gave up more than 10 runs in all three games, allowing 35 over the weekend.
Game One
Michigan State exploded for 17 hits and 11 runs to cruise to an 11-4 victory Friday.
The Spartans jumped on the board quickly in the first, scoring on an RBI single from catcher Caleb Berry.
Michigan State began to pull away in the middle innings, plating six runs between the fourth and sixth to take a 7-0 lead.
The Buckeyes broke their scoring drought in the seventh, as catcher Matthew Graveline scored on a wild pitch.
The Spartans answered back in the bottom half, as Berry left the yard with a solo homer.
Graveline came through again in the eighth, launching a three-run homer to cut the deficit to four. However, Michigan State once again matched Ohio State’s production in the bottom half of the inning, plating three runs to seal the 11-4 win.
Game Two
In a back-and-forth, extra-inning affair, the Spartans came out on top, downing the Buckeyes 10-9 in 11 innings Saturday.
Michigan State came out hot in the first, as first baseman Sam Busch hit a two-run homer to give the Spartans an early lead.
Ohio State responded promptly, adding four runs in the second on a two-RBI single from third baseman Maddix Simpson and a two-RBI double by right fielder Trey Lipsey.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to four in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from shortstop Lee Ellis.
However, Ohio State’s momentum faltered, as Michigan State surged ahead in the fifth and sixth innings to take an 8-6 lead.
Still, the Buckeyes didn’t back down.
Freshman left fielder Sal Mineo delivered a pinch-hit, two-RBI triple, followed by an RBI single from Simpson to reclaim a 9-8 lead.
One inning later, the Spartans tied the game on a pinch-hit homer from utility player Will Shannon.
In the 11th, the long ball haunted the Buckeyes again, as Michigan State center fielder JT Sokolove went deep to lift the Spartans to a 10-9 win in walk-off fashion.
Game Three
Michigan State scored seven unanswered runs to open the game and never looked back, run-ruling Ohio State 14-4 Sunday.
The Spartans plated one run in the first on an RBI groundout, but it was the second inning that proved fatal for the Buckeyes, as Michigan State erupted for six runs to take an insurmountable 7-0 lead.
Ohio State began to chip away in the third, scoring three runs highlighted by an RBI single from catcher Mason Eckelman.
However, the Spartans responded quickly, scoring four in the bottom half of the inning to extend their lead to 11-3.
The Buckeyes added their final run in the fourth on a groundout by Graveline, but Michigan State tacked on three more over the final three innings to clinch a 14-4, seven-inning victory.
Ohio State (9-27, 2-16 Big Ten) returns to Bill Davis Stadium to take on Akron (12-26, 6-15 MAC) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will stream on Big Ten+.
