Ohio State opens its season against UConn in Florida. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The opening day of baseball season marks a fresh start and a new beginning.
After 273 days, a new head coach in Bill Mosiello, a new coaching staff and 18 new players, the wait is over for the Buckeyes. It is time to play ball.
Ohio State squares off against UConn in a four-game series beginning Friday at the Snowbird Classic in Florida, beginning the new era of Buckeye baseball.
“I just want them to be themselves,” Mosiello said. “They played winning baseball the last couple of weeks if we can just do that.”
Mosiello’s new-look squad faces a UConn team entering as preseason favorites to win the Big East Conference. Led by Jim Penders in his 20th year as head coach, the Huskies begin the season as the reigning Big East regular season and tournament champions, making it to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2022.
“I’ve gotten to watch all their guys, and what a really good club,” Mosiello said. “Coach Penders has done a fantastic job in the last couple of years.”
The Huskies are led on the mound by sophomore right-hander Ian Cooke, who was tabbed as the Preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year after going 7-1 with a 3.64 ERA in 2022.
At the plate, UConn is anchored by junior outfielder Korey Morton, who batted a team-best .411 last year, as well as graduate first baseman Ben Huber who scored 69 runs and drove in 66 in 2022.
The thought of opening day brings pure excitement to senior right-hander Wyatt Loncar, who comes off a 73-strikeout season in 10 starts and 13 games.
“I feel like this is the most prepared we’ve ever been,” Loncar said. “I think we’re just tired of facing each other. We want to see another jersey out there and face someone else.”
Sophomore left-hander Gavin Bruni started two of his last three appearances in 2022 and is prime for a larger role in the rotation. Bruni said what makes this year’s team stick out is its energy.
“Everybody’s got the same intentions of, ‘Hey, I’m going to go win a job and if I don’t, I’m going to be the best teammate I can,’” Bruni said. “Everybody’s just got that energy whether you’re on the field or in the dugout.”
Despite many differences between last year’s 20-30 season and this year, the outfield returns a unit that drove in over 40 percent of the team’s runs in 2022. The Buckeyes enter the opening series with one of the Big Ten’s veteran outfields led by senior Mitchell Okuley, sophomore Trey Lipsey and junior Kade Kern.
Kern, a lifetime .311 hitter and All-Big Ten selection in his first two seasons, said he feels a lot more comfortable heading into the opening weekend.
“I’ve learned so much from coach Mo and the whole coaching staff,” Kern said. “I feel like I’m in a lot better of a situation heading into the season than I have in years past.”
On the mound this weekend, Mosiello said junior left-hander Isaiah Coupet will be the opening day starter for the second-straight year.
Junior right-handed transfers Justin Eckhardt from Texas and Josh Timmerman from Wabash Valley Community College will make their first Ohio State starts in games two and three, with Bruni getting the ball in Monday’s series finale.
The Buckeyes open their season with eight games in 10 days playing back-to-back series of four games, traveling to Phoenix to face Grand Canyon and Gonzaga next week.
Mosiello said these four-game series are a great opportunity, especially for the bullpen, because the starters’ pitch counts are lower at the beginning of the season.
“A lot of guys are going to get the baseball. We’re going to see what we’re made out of,” Mosiello said. “There are going to be guys that don’t make the road trip that will make the second road trip that will have to pitch.”
Loncar said the upcoming road trips are something the players are looking forward to as a group.
“It’s the time of your life,” Loncar said. “You remember the games and stuff, but the stories you tell from in the locker room and making those memories will last a lifetime with your best friends.”
Ohio State begins its season at the Snowbird Classic for the second-straight year, going 3-1 in the event last year with a 15-4 opening day win versus Marshall on Feb. 18, 2022.
Opening day will mark the 13th meeting between the Buckeyes and Huskies in a series that dates to 1970. Ohio State leads the series 8-4 and won the last meeting 8-2 on Feb. 14, 2014, in the first Snowbird Classic.
Mosiello said baseball is “the simplest game there is,” and it takes a full effort to win ball games.
“It starts on the mound — you got to play defense and you got to be tough in the box,” Mosiello said. “The best teams don’t win — it’s the best teams that play every day, and our goal is to have 56 opening days.”
Game one is Friday in Venice, Florida, at 7 p.m., while games two and three are Saturday and Sunday in Sarasota, Florida, at 4 p.m. The series will close Monday with the finale in Port Charlotte, Florida, at 11 a.m. FloBaseball will broadcast the series.
