The Buckeyes need a good one from Friday starter Landon Beidelschies, who pitches against Northwestern tonight at Bill Davis Stadium. (Press Pros feature photos)
Struggling to qualify for the final spot in the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes get a schedule break this weekend with the last place Northwestern Wildcats come to Bill Davis Stadium.
Columbus, OH – An Ohio State baseball fan posted on social media Thursday: “Big series this weekend. It’s put up or shut up time.”
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And that’s an understatement.
Currently the Buckeyes (8-10, conference play) find themselves outside the top eight spots, behind Maryland (10-11), a game and a half behind the Terrapins to qualify for the final spot in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
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So owing to the fan statement, they have very little wiggle room. They just have a favorable schedule.
Northwestern comes to town this weekend, the Wildcats having a woeful season, but an even more terrifying history of success against the Buckeyes at Bill Davis Stadium. Five years ago, with OSU again fighting to make the tournament, the same woeful Wildcats came to Bill Davis and swept the Buckeyes, one of Greg Beals low points in his decade as coach of the Buckeyes.
Currently, the ‘Cats are 15-30 for the season, and just 2-16 in conference play. As a team they hit .241, and pitch with an earned run average of 7.07. Baseball is so low a priority at Northwestern that a friend in Chicago told me this week that it’s just something they do out of obligation to the conference.
Shortstop Henry Kaczmar leads the Buckeyes in hitting with a .344 average.
From a first-hand experience, when I was in Evanston two years ago to cover the series, they didn’t bother to print box scores, saying the press box printer was out of paper. This, at a school that costs $80,000 a year!
Put up or shut up?
If the Buckeyes are going to get to Omaha they have to sweep, pure and simple. Sweep, that is, and hope for some help this week while Michigan State and Maryland have tougher schedules with Minnesota and Boston College, respectively, Maryland playing out of conference. They get the bye.
And ironically, when Maryland and Northwestern met a month ago the Terps lost two of three to Northwestern, the Wildcats’ only two conference wins in 2024!
But they have played teams tough, losing multiple times in extra innings, including a 13-inning loss to Iowa just a week ago.
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So the Buckeyes can take nothing for granted, and Friday’s opener with ace Landon Beideschies (4-7, 4.66 ERA) on the mound becomes paramount for the sake of record and confidence for the weekend. If ‘Cheese’ can spin a good one there’s little doubt that the Buckeyes’ offense can feast off that 7.07.
But if they don’t sweep, they have to win at least five of their last six, and hope for big help as Michigan State closes with Nebraska next week, while Maryland plays Penn State, and the Buckeyes travel to Rutgers for their conference wrap-up.
And just for the record, Rutgers (4-14), who trails Ohio State in the standings, beat Michigan State two out of three when they met the last weekend in March.
These are big games, and the season is on the line. And while Bill Mosiello has disdain for the term pressure, he has to acknowledge the urgency of his situation. There’s no wiggle room. They have to win!
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