Opportunities to take the next step…sophomore Gavin Kuzniewski seeks to reprise last week’s 5-hit shutout this weekend against the Minnesota Gophers. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
With a 10-13 record the Ohio State Buckeyes are at least a month ahead of 2025’s issues and a 13-37 record. But now, they delve into the games that matter most, traveling to Minneapolis this weekend to face the 17-8 Gophers.
Columbus, OH – Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and let’s not pretend.
That said, the Ohio State baseball Buckeyes have won five of their last seven games.
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But that said, three of those wins came against a hapless Butler team last week that’s 6-16 for the season and was on the schedule for a reason. Justin Haire’s team needed wins for confidence sake, and they got a badly needed shot of competitive B-12 in their backside.
Starter Gavin Kuzniewski, for instance, pitched a seven-inning, 5-hit complete game shutout in the opening game of the Butler series last weekend, by far his best performance as a collegian.
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And the batting Buckeyes rewarded his performance with an 11-run performance that saw them raise their batting average (over the weekend ) nearly 20 points, to .252.
Baby steps, indeed, but realistic with what Justin Haire said following the season’s first weekend and that three-game sweep against St. Louis.
“Steps in the right direction,” the second-year coach added. “And still a lot of work to do.”
They’re 10-13 by way over overall record. The batting average is on an upward trend, and the team earned run average is on a downward trend. What could be better?
Well, the reality of their ten wins all coming against losing teams. Bubble-bursting, of course, but true.
And impossible to ignore given that the Big Ten Conference schedule begins in earnest this weekend with road trip to miserable Minnesota to play at Dick Siebert Field, one of the coldest, windiest, and dingiest facilities in college baseball. And with weather forecasts below the Mendoza line, there is the possibility that the 17-8 Gophers and Buckeyes could move inside the Vikings’ facility at US Bank Stadium. That’s at least some good news, even in Minneapolis, where the forecast is about the same as Columbus for Saturday and Sunday!
The Gophers simply outplayed Ohio State in a three-game sweep last spring at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Buckeyes are 1-5 in Big Ten competition, that lone win against Washington, and they’re facing another team that’s equally frustrated in conference with the Gophers, who’ve won just twice in six opportunities against Illinois and Indiana. In fact, the Gophers are currently 12th in the Big Ten standings, while the Buckeyes (at 1-5) are 17th. Of course a lot can change in just three games.
But it is worth questioning when this past week Wright State, in a mid-week non-conference game, pummeled Ohio State pitching (albeit mid-week) for 10 runs and 14 hits. And there is always the issue that comes with Wright State…of playing a mid-major program that firmly believes it’s the best Division VI college baseball in the state of Ohio. And it’s hard to argue, because the Raiders, even at 9-12, are the only Division I team in Ohio to have beaten Vanderbilt last year in the NCAA regional tournament.
But are the Buckeyes trending, upwards?
Decidedly, from the standpoint of players like Gavin Kuzniewski gaining developmental experience on the mound.
Decidedly, from the standpoint of first-year transfers like Alex Bemis (.302) and Noah Furcht (.304, 3 HRs) finding their footing against the best collegiate competition they’ve ever faced…at least to date.
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But now comes the conference, and Minnesota, where second-year coach Ty McDevitt is literally walking in the same shoes as Justin Haire, trying to resurrect a struggling program back to the standards of respectability. Minnesota swept Ohio State in Columbus last spring, and looked dominant in doing it. Weber Neels is one of the most dangerous bats in the Big Ten (.345 and 6 HRs), and the Gopher pitching has been strong (3.59 ERA), and tested in a collection of telling losses to good competitions.
Henry Kaczmar has raised his batting average to a team-leading .315 over the past two weeks.
Can Kuzniewski reprise last week’s gem against the Gophers on Friday? Can he throw more strikes (17 walks in 30.1 innings) and limit his vulnerability to free bases?
After 23 games, can Haire’s bullpen find some consistency. when its needed most from the sixth inning on? Can they throw more strikes? The Buckeyes’ staff, as a whole, has 117 walks against 203 strikeouts in 185 innings? And Minnesota ranks fifth out of 17 conference teams in runs scored with 192.
And can they catch and throw the ball better than their present .972 % – average. compared to the rest of the league.
Glass half full, second baseman Henry Kaczmar has been on fire at the plate, bumping his average to .315 over those past seven games…and right about the time that Haire needs him, Mason Eckelman, Noah Furcht, Miles Vandenheuvel, Bemis, and Dane Harvey to deliver on this past off-season of talent upgrade. If not now, when? It’s been 23 games.
It’s a great time to start. And it’s a great place to start, despite being in Minneapolis.
And yes, the glass is half full at 10-13. At nearly the halfway point of the their season, they’re in the hunt for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, and that’s motivation they didn’t have a year ago at this time.
We’ll know so much more…after 72 hours in Minneapolis!
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