Trey Lipsey’s walk-off home run (above) sealed last year’s series win over Purdue. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The two principals who have played for three coaches in four years, Trey Lipsey and Tyler Pettorini have benefited from nearly every adversity you can imagine in college baseball. And can it help the Buckeyes in 2025?
Columbus, OH – They say that in sports inconsistency is the one consistency that’s hardest to mitigate…to play through.
Stuff happens, we all know…especially in sports. You can’t help it. You just play the hand you’re dealt.
They say the greatest mental advantage is simply knowing what’s expected of you. Like life, it’s easier to go about your business if you know the routine – if you know what people expect of you.
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No baseball historian ever claimed that Casey Stengel was one of the game’s best managers, but his seven world championships over a ten-year period is testimony to this fact of his consistency. If you could play you were going to play for Stengel. His players knew his expectations, even his patience for going 0 for 4. Management understood – leave well enough alone. Stengel made it easy to play well for the New York Yankees.
There is nothing that an athlete covets more than consistency – one voice, one way, and one trust. And no Ohio State player understands better than seniors Trey Lipsey and Tyler Pettorini, the two remaining principals on an Ohio State roster in 2025 who have now had the hard-to-imagine experience of playing for three head coaches in four years. One could make the point…they’ve seen it all!
Yet, Pettorini has consistently performed, a perennial .300 hitter since his freshman year (cumulative .312 in 2023 and ’24) while developing as a dependable everyday defensive player on the infield. One of the Big Ten’s toughest outs, his dependability is one of the Buckeyes’ most valuable assets.
After an eye-opening freshman year, Lipsey has endured to have one more shot at proving the sky’s his limit. His dream on the line, no one could have more motivation this year to make the most of that shot.
Tyler Pettorini has hit a cumulative .312 over the past two seasons, with 13 homers and 68 RBIs.
Both are draft eligible in 2025, and both understand that whatever happens between now and July really has little to do with extenuating circumstances. It’s about what they can do for themselves…the sum of their talent and experience.
Both were recruited by Greg Beals, who’s now at Marshall after being fired in 2022, and in the midst of a rebuild that some believe will soon impact the pecking order of the Sun Belt Conference.
Bill Mosiello is back in Fort Worth, having resigned after two seasons in Columbus. where he’s an associate head coach at TCU, program that some say is poised for Top 25 recognition.
Current coach, Justin Haire, has the excellent pedigree from ten highly successful years at Campbell, now motivated by the Ohio State job being the next, biggest coaching challenge in his life.
Because it’s college baseball, changes at the top are viewed altogether differently than if Ryan Day were suddenly coaching in Huntington, or Fort Worth. Baseball is played in the shadows…the daily routine. You play with your own expectations. It doesn’t phase Pettorini or Lipsey.
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“I think I’ve always been a very coachable player,” Pettorini said this week. “So I just try to keep my head down, hit, and win games. In the end it doesn’t matter who you play for. Personalities are different, but I like the group that’s in here now. I think I’ve have good relationships with all the coaches, and the changes [since 2022] really hasn’t been an issue [for me].”
A friend who reached Double A baseball as a professional, says this about change with coaches.
“I played for five years in the minors, and I had five different managers. All that anyone cared about was my batting average, not who taught me how to hit.”
Lipsey, like Pettorini, looms as a foundation figure for 2025, regardless of where he plays, or hits.
“Everything happens for a reason, and you learn something from every coach. So I just show up every day and go to work…get after it.” – Trey Lipsey
“I look back at things now as something I didn’t expect,” says Lipsey. “But everything happens for a reason. You learn something from every coach, and I’m excited about the coaches I have now. Having three coaches has been an opportunity to learn from each of them. So I just show up every day and go to work…get after it. We’re a few days out now [from the season], and I’m excited to play. I think everyone’s excited.”
He should be. Following that impressive freshman year (.293 with 7 HRs), Lipsey has suffered through a severe leg injury in 2023 and the reality of re-selling himself as an impact player in his final season.
Pettorini totally disregards the snub received from conference coaches last year for post-season honors. Now is his time.
The tools are there, and their consistency and experience are priceless to Justin Haire’s day-to-day.
They talk about baseball and the coming season as if change of leadership has been just one long at bat – the glass is always half full. You can fail three times out of ten and still be a .300 hitter!
Their individuality will be on full display. The journey is behind them and the destination is just down the road. Their leadership will be vital.
Be coachable…keep your head down…hit…win games…learn along the way.
Stengel was famous for saying, “I’ve never won a game managing. I’ve just had good players.”
Pettorini and Lipsey are a couple of good players.
As Casey would say…you could look it up!
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