Starter Pierce Herrenbruck was steady, competitive, allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits through 6.2 innings in Sunday’s finale. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Reeling after a three-game sweep at Purdue, the Buckeyes come home to reset before a critical, and winnable, three-game set at Rutgers next weekend.
Buckeyes coach Justin Haire has said repeatedly that to win in baseball you have to do everything, including the little things, right.
You have to hit, you have to pitch, and you have to play defense.
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And for the first two games of the Purdue series it was the lack of starting pitching that plagued the Buckeyes.
Sunday, they got the quality start from righthander Pierce Herrenbruck, only to fall quiet with the bats in a 6-2 loss to the Boilermakers that gave Purdue the weekend sweep.
Purdue starter Austin Klug held the Buckeyes to no runs on just four hits through six while amassing a 2-0 lead off Herrenbruck with single runs in each of the first two innings.
But unlike Friday and Saturday, when the Buckeye bats boomed in comeback attempt, there was no comeback on Sunday except for two runs in the top of the ninth inning – solo home runs by Noah Furcht and Dane Harvey.
Purdue won the game with 6 runs on 10 hits.
Ohio State dropped to 19-19 on the season, and 9-9 in Big Ten play with 2 runs on 6 hits.
With the loss the Buckeyes dropped a spot to seventh place in the Big Ten, as Michigan moved ahead of them into sixth with a Sunday 2[-1 win over Northwestern.
More importantly, the Buckeyes come home for a mid-week game against Akron on Tuesday at Bill Davis Stadium, then hit the road again next weekend to play Rutgers for another three-game series. And time to reset their course, using Haire’s words last week in reference to temporary setbacks.
“Good teams have to recourse, and if we want to be one of those teams we have to make the change of course.”
Final Facts:
Maddix Simpson had the only multi-hit game in Sunday’s finale, going 2 for 4 to raise his average to .273 for the season.
Pierce Herrenbruck pitched well, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits over 6.2 innings while striking out 4 and walking 1. His record drops to 4-2.
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