Ohio State took home the Frisco Classic title this weekend with wins over Mississippi State and Oklahoma. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
After Sunday night’s 12-9 victory over Oklahoma, Ohio State head coach Bill Mosiello was handed a golden belt.
With his players and coaches surrounding him in smiles, the first-year head coach held the belt over his scarlet cap and celebrated as champions of the Frisco Classic.
The Buckeyes started and finished strong in Frisco, Texas, defeating Mississippi State 8-3 Friday and Oklahoma 12-9 Sunday, with a 16-1 loss to California-Berkeley Saturday as their only loss of the weekend.
Ohio State and Oklahoma both went 2-1 this weekend at Riders Field while Mississippi State and UC Berkeley went 1-2.
Ohio State’s wins over Mississippi State and Oklahoma marked the first time since 2014 the Buckeyes defeated a Southeastern Conference and Big 12 opponent in the same year, let alone the same weekend.
Ohio State’s last win over an SEC team came on Feb. 15, 2014, a 1-0 triumph over Auburn. Eight days later, the Buckeyes defeated Oklahoma 6-3.
Junior left-handed pitcher Isaiah Coupet, junior centerfielder Kade Kern and sophomore infielder Tyler Pettorini were named to the All-Frisco Classic team.
Coupet struck out nine batters and earned his second victory of the season in the win versus the Bulldogs, while Kern hit the three-run home run that was the difference in the victory over the Sooners. Pettorini was one of seven Ohio State batters in the series to have multi-hit games, going 5-for-12 with four doubles and five RBIs.
Game 1
The Buckeyes used a four-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh to take an 8-3 victory over Mississippi State, the 2021 national champions.
Ohio State generated five hits in the game but used its plate awareness to reach base, as six batters combined for eight walks.
The Buckeyes struck first in the top of the fourth inning when freshman shortstop Henry Kaczmar scored on a wild pitch by Bulldogs freshman switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ohio State loaded the bases. After an RBI walk by graduate catcher Cole Andrews, Pettorini cleared the bases with a three-run double to break open the game.
In the top of the seventh frame, the Buckeyes took advantage of multiple errors by Mississippi State, plating a run across on a fielding error by Bulldogs second baseman junior Amani Larry.
The Buckeyes added two more runs in the inning when redshirt junior outfielder Hank Thomas singled to left field and a costly error in the outfield allowed graduate infielder Marcus Ernst and Kern to score.
Coupet earned the win in five innings, giving up just one run on one hit and six walks. Coupet struck out nine Mississippi State batters and now has nine punchouts in all three starts in 2023.
Ambidextrous pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje tossed four innings for Mississippi State but did not earn the decision, with freshman right-hander Evan Siary picking up the loss.
Five Ohio State pitchers combined for just three runs allowed and stranded 16 total Mississippi State runners on base.
Graduate right-hander Jonah Jenkins forced the Bulldogs to leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning with a game-ending flyout.
Game 2
After falling to Oklahoma 9-5 despite once leading 3-0 on Friday, UC Berkeley responded with a thunderous 16-1 win over Ohio State on Saturday.
The Golden Bears jumped on starting right-hander Justin Eckhardt with five runs in the first. Sophomore outfielder Carson Crawford, sophomore infielder Peyton Schulze and junior infielder Max Handron roped RBI singles and junior outfielder Jag Burden hit a sacrifice groundout to drive in the fifth run.
UC Berkeley did its most damage scoring 10 runs in the fifth inning, anchored by a grand slam by sophomore infielder Peyton Schulze. In addition to his home run, Schulze had several RBI singles, including one that drove in two runs, to put him at a career-high seven RBIs.
Ohio State pitchers were able to get ahead in pitching counts all game, but the Golden Bears offense answered with seven hits and 10 RBIs when faced with no balls and two strikes.
Ernst provided a bright spot for an Ohio State offense that went 4-for-24 at the plate, clobbering his team-leading third home run in the fourth inning, a blast to right field.
Eckhardt earned the loss in his second start for the Buckeyes while junior right-hander Paulshawn Pasqualotto won his first game for the Golden Bears since 2021 after missing last season due to injury.
Game 3
For the third-straight series, Ohio State won the closer in an offensive explosion that totaled 16 base knocks and six multi-hit games in an 12-9 win over national runner-up Oklahoma.
The Sooners jumped on sophomore left-hander Gavin Bruni in the bottom of the first inning when Bruni tried to throw out junior outfielder Bryce Madron at first base but threw it away and allowed the first run to score.
Oklahoma freshman catcher Easton Carmichael ripped a one-run single, and the Sooners got another run across when Carmichael stole second and Andrews’ throw sailed off target, allowing sophomore infielder Jackson Nicklaus to score.
The Buckeyes retaliated in the fourth inning when they loaded the bases.
Freshman catcher Matthew Graveline notched his first of three hits in the game with an RBI single. Pettorini then doubled in two runs and senior third baseman Nick Erwin followed with a two-run single.
Erwin added on in the top half of the fifth with a double down the right field line to score Pettorini. Sophomore second baseman Josh McAlister followed with an RBI single before Ernst added extra support driving in McAlister with a double down the line in right.
Kern strolled to the dish in the top of the seventh with already one hit in the game. Faced with runners on first and second base, Kern jolted a pitch from freshman left-hander Julian Hachem over the left field wall for his second long ball of the season.
The Sooners rattled off four runs on five hits in the seventh and eighth innings and had the bases loaded down 11-9 in the bottom of the eighth, but freshman left-hander Landon Beidelschies got freshman first baseman Rocco Garza-Gongora to ground out, ending the threat.
Following a one-run single from Kaczmar in the top of the ninth inning, Beidelschies allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach base. Beidelschies responded, retiring the next three batters he faced for his second save of the season.
After winning two games in 20 appearances last year at the University of San Francisco, Jenkins earned his second victory of the season in just his fifth appearance, going 3 2/3 innings with two earned runs and three strikeouts in relief for Bruni.
Ohio State continues its cross-country road trip next weekend against Cal State-Bakersfield starting Friday in Bakersfield, California.
