Ohio State junior right-handed pitcher Garrett Burhenn (7) preparing to deliver a pitch in the Ohio State-Iowa game March 26. Ohio State won the game 8-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Set with runners on first and second base in the bottom of the seventh inning, there was nobody the Buckeyes would’ve wanted to see dig into the batter’s box other than redshirt senior catcher Brent Todys, who already extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single earlier in the game.
The Westerville, Ohio, native worked ahead 2-0 in the count, then swung into a breaking ball and laced it the other way to right field, and sophomore right fielder Mitchell Okuley raced home to score from second base.
Todys’ hit plated the first of four runs after the sixth inning, as Ohio State (19-16) ultimately scored six unanswered runs against Michigan State (15-23) to avoid the weekend sweep.
“It does take a little bit of pressure off just because you know you have at least done something to give your team a chance,” Todys said. “So that’s a good feeling. You try and have the same mindset every at-bat. If I do stick to my approach, good things are going to happen. So, you just try and keep even-keel up there.”
He later drew a four-pitch walk to reach base for the third time Sunday afternoon, and was part of Ohio State’s 10-hit onslaught that was more than double what it recorded against the Spartans the day before.
Junior right-hander Garrett Burhenn made the start on short rest after firing six innings at Purdue Tuesday. Burhenn matched the length of his outing again Sunday, and allowed three runs while striking out eight and walking none during his quality start.
Ohio State’s bullpen held onto its lead, which was just 4-3 at the start of the eighth inning. Junior right-hander Jack Neely made his second appearance from the bullpen, and spun two hitless innings alongside two strikeouts. Neely’s only blemishes were a pair of hit batters in the eighth.
Michigan State sent the tying run to the plate against junior righty TJ Brock in the top of the ninth inning after a walk to junior catcher Adam Proctor loaded the bases. Brock also issued a leadoff single to senior left fielder Bryce Kelley and free pass to sophomore designated hitter Casey Mayes, but struck out the side by getting freshman second baseman Trent Farquhar to end the game.
“From a pitching standpoint, it went pretty much as scripted today,” head coach Greg Beals said. “Garrett Burhenn did a great job on short rest, but if anybody can handle the short rest, it’s Garrett. A quality start to get us deep in the ballgame and keep our ballclub with a chance to win and then Jack Neely was hot today. Those two innings were critical, and then you hand the ball over to Brock and in typical Brock fashion, he creates some excitement but gets out of it.”
Michigan State struck first with a pair of singles in the top of the second inning, the latter of which was hit off the bat of freshman first baseman Brock Vradenburg to score freshman shortstop Mitch Jebb from second base.
Junior third baseman Nick Erwin helped the Buckeyes answer quickly in the bottom half of the inning, singling to left field in a 2-2 count that allowed junior left fielder Marcus Ernst to score from second base, as well.
Erwin later reached on a safety squeeze bunt that scored Ernst again in the eighth inning, and the Grove City, Ohio, native finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“It obviously feels good, never feels great losing games,” Erwin said. “I thought we hit some balls hard yesterday, got some leadoff guys on, think we bounced into two or three double plays and that kind of just killed some innings. But today, we finally got the big hit. I think we did a great job of just keep pushing and keep getting through the game.”
The Spartans took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning behind a solo shot from Proctor in the third and RBI single from Farquhar in the fifth, but Ohio State never counted itself out as it mustered seven of its hits after the fourth inning.
Freshman center fielder Kade Kern tied the game on a 2-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning, and he added another insurance run on his second hit of the game in the eighth, finishing the day with three RBIs.
Four Buckeyes had multi-hit games, but redshirt senior first baseman Conner Pohl was not among them. Pohl went 0-for-4 with a walk and RBI, snapping his hitting streak at a career-high 16 games.
Ohio State will next hit the road for the first time — aside from Tuesday’s midweek game against the Boilermakers — since April 18 when it plays both Nebraska and Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. The Buckeyes split two games against the Cornhuskers in March, and swept the Hoosiers in four games April 2-4.
“We’ve had success against both of those teams that we’re playing. We just keep that mindset,” Todys said. “This win today was huge. We’re gonna build off that, don’t change anything. We’re just gonna keep positive, take it game-by-game and see what happens.”
