With Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, every member of the Big Ten should be nervous about the future under the leadership of Commissioner Kevin Warren. That includes Ohio State, which may be motivated to react in a way unthinkable. Bruce Hooley writes for today’s Press Pros.
The Michigan coach said his team “will die trying” to defeat the Buckeyes and Michigan State to regain footing in their annual rivalry games. Ryan Day, though, said it’s first things first, and that’s defeating Minnesota in the opener.
Ohio State pitcher Seth Lonsway bet on himself in passing on last year’s major league draft, counting on a bigger, and more lucrative 2021 college season. Through Sunday’s first round he came up a couple of cards short. And by the time the call came on Monday (San Francisco, 6th round), he was more convinced than ever that baseball is never easy!
Playing Prospect League baseball in Springfield this summer, the Buckeyes’ Mitchell Okuley is looking for a solution to a month-long slump that saw his Big Ten average, and his confidence, plummet. But he’s confident that time away and a return to routine is just the fix he needs. Read more in Wednesday’s Press Pros.
E.J. Liddell listened to what the scouts said and will return to Ohio State for his junior season, which raises the stakes for the Buckeyes on the court and establishes a test case for the value of an OSU basketball player in a football-obsessed market. Bruce Hooley writes for Monday’s Press Pros.
This team had more than a few chances to make a run at a post-season berth, but it never got into a rhythm to make a serious run; Now, the work begins to make sure this doesn’t happen next season.
The four most likely Buckeyes to be taken in next month’s upcoming MLB draft suit up for the last time in 2021 with Sundays season finale with Northwestern. The bigger question: Will it be the last time ever?
The junior right-hander struck out 11 and gave up one run. But it was his bulldog effort in getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning that highlighted what could have been his final college start for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mark Znidar writes for Press Pros.
Neither wind, or rain, or the lack of post-season motivation was enough to discourage shortstop Zach Dezenzo. His pair of home runs and six RBIs assured the Buckeyes of at least a .500 season Friday in a 13-10 win over Northwestern. Read Mark Znidar in today’s Press Pros.
As they embark on the final weekend of the 2021 season, the Buckeyes as a group try to finish with a smiling reminder…that baseball giveth, and baseball taketh away. While senior Conner Pohl has one last shot at making a case for himself in next month’s MLB draft.
Coach Greg Beals and his staff had no choice than to have a bullpen game when Griffan Smith was scratched, and the ploy gave the team a chance to win. Mark Znidar writes for Tuesday’s Press Pros.
After Nebraska clinched the league title in game one of a Sunday doubleheader (below), Ohio State ace Garrett Burhenn stunned Indiana, battling for an NCAA bid, with a sparkling 7-hit shutout and a 3-1 Buckeye win. Mark Znidar writes in Monday’s Press Pros.
Leading 9-2 as they went to the seventh inning, the Buckeyes’ season continued to be a model of consistency through inconsistency.
Fateful signal…Greg Beals called to the bullpen four times after the Buckeyes took a 9-2 lead in the seventh. But Nebraska scored 9 unanswered runs in their final three at bats to win Saturday, 11-9. Mark Znidar writes for Press Pros.
They have four games this weekend to prove they belong in the NCAA tournament consideration, and if that goes well another four next week (keep your fingers crossed) with Northwestern to sway the doubters. Now…it’s win, or else.
TJ Brock (below) applied the finishing touches to a 7-3 Buckeyes win on Sunday, avoiding a Michigan State sweep and keeping hope alive with the season’s most important weekend approaching. Read Mark Znidar in today’s Press Pros.
You never want to leave the game…but left-hander Griffan Smith made his first start since 2020 on Saturday, and it was an encouraging one – two hits, one walk and no runs and striking out two in 3 1/3 innings. But the Buckeyes drops the game and the series to Michigan State, 2-0. Read more in today’s feature.
In thirteen seasons Michigan State’s Jake Boss has quietly become one of the most respected coaches in Division I college baseball…and has seen a lot. And now, like his colleagues, he’s seen coaching as predicated by a pandemic. Read our latest Big Ten baseball update.
Buckeyes starter Seth Lonsway gave up four runs in the second inning, and Michigan State right-hander Mason Erla did the rest in pulling off the upset at Bill Davis Stadium. Conner Pohl (pictured) hits his eleventh home run of the season. Read Mark Znidar’s column about Buckeye baseball inside Press Pros.
Buckeyes had a three-game series at Minnesota wiped out by COVID-19 infections among Gophers, but get a win over Purdue in a makeup game. Read more OSU baseball this weekend against Michigan State, by Mark Znidar here on Press Pros.
