Henry Kaczmar rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
The Buckeyes got off to a fabulous start, shortstop Henry Kaczmar hit a grand slam homer on their way to a 12-3 lead in the fifth…then held on to win as Penn State scored seven times in the last four innings.
Columbus, OH – Buckeyes baseball coach Justin Haire is correct when he says that winning is hard…and that good teams trying to prove themselves don’t have hiccups, or days when vital parts of how to play the game fail them.
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But twenty four hours after saying those very words following Saturday’s 3-2 win over Penn State, the Buckeyes made an impressive start to score twelve times in the first five innings Sunday, powered by a pair of home runs by Dane Harvey and Henry Kaczmar.
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And starting pitcher Pierce Herrenbruck pitched suitably into the sixth inning, scattering six hits and three runs over the first five.
But then the Buckeye bullpen, which can resemble the old adage about the girl with the curl, came on to make it exciting, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits over the final four innings to make a 15-10 Ohio State win more interesting than it should have been.
Herrenbruck, to be frank, lost his touch in the sixth, or in baseball terminology…the third time through the Penn State batting order. Even last place teams make adjustments, and the Nittany Lions strucking for 3 runs on a walk, a pair of singles, and an RBI double in the sixth. That cut the Ohio State lead to 12-6.
Pierce Herrenbruck (4-1) earned the win on the mound. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched.
But the Buckeyes, who scored 3 times in the first, 3 times in the second, once in the fourth and 3 times in the fifth would come back to score once in the bottom of the sixth and twice in the seventh, and good that they did.
Because…Penn State jumped on relievers Zach Weber and Andrew Edrington in the eighth inning for 4 runs on 4 hits, a walk and an error to at least make those looking on wonder about better teams (Purdue and Nebraska) just ahead. And over the final month, heightening motivation amongst the league’s top twelve teams vying for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament over the schedule’s last three weeks.
But glass half full? The Buckeyes won the game with 15 runs, 15 hits, 2 errors, and left 8 men on base. The fact that they allowed Penn State back into a game that was totally out of hand…with 10 runs on 14 hits and 10 men left on base is hard to stomach.
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The win was blowing again, yes, and the ball was flying at Bill Davis Stadium.
Five Buckeyes had multi-hit games – Noah Furcht (2), Dane Harvey (2), Maddix Simpson (2), Jacob Parr (3) and Lee Simpson (2) – and Kaczmar hammered a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth, his sixth long ball of the year, driving in his 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st runs of the year. Designated hitter Jacob Parr homered in the seventh, his first as a Buckeye.
Grant Mangrum is one of the four Ohio State players who was hit by a pitch during Sunday’ game against the Nittany Lions.
But the up and down nature of the pitching poses issues to come against teams ahead of them in the standings (Purdue and Nebraska), and Michigan when the two meet on the final weekend of the year in windy Ray Fisher Stadium, in Ann Arbor.
Again on Sunday, Buckeye pitchers Herrenbruck, Luke Carrell, Lincoln McVicker, Zach Weber, Andrew Edrington and Nick Sawyer could not be found guilty of issuing free bases. The six walked just three Penn State hitters, while striking out a total of seven.
But there is such a thing as being wild in the strike zone – careless pitches up in the zone – and teams at every level of baseball feast on pitches that are poorly executed. And Purdue, currently in fifth place and just ahead of the Buckeyes, is a team that’s very selective and hits the cripple with the best of them. The Boilermakers through this weekend were hitting .310, compared to .265 for the Buckeyes, and were nearly a run better per game in comparative earned run average.
Dane Harvey watches the “BOMB” he delivers over the centerfield wall at Bill Davis Stadium.
“If there is such a thing as hiccups, then you have to do some immediate course correction if you want to be a good baseball team, and competitive against the best teams. Because who you play doesn’t matter. It can happen against UCLA, or it can happen this weekend [against Penn State],” said Haire on Saturday.
And that’s the idea, of course. Sunday marked the Buckeyes 19th win of the season, compared to 13 for the entire 2025 season. And their conference mark of 9-6 is a 100% improvement over last year…with 22 games left to play.
So who are the real Buckeyes?
Well, winning teams are happy for a reason. It’s easy to remember 13-37.
But strength of schedule is also good to consider. Maryland and Penn State are 16th and 17th in the Big Ten standings, respectively. So heed Justin Haire’s words wisely. There’s bound to be some conversation about course correction between now and Friday’s opening game in West Lafayette.
Good, or even better, pitching beats good hitting…almost every time.
Closing pitcher Nick Sawyer struck out two and allowed one hit in 1.0 scoreless innings.
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