Eric Boggs
The Ohio State baseball team showed flashes of promise but ultimately dropped its weekend series against Rutgers, losing two of three games at Bill Davis Stadium. After a tough 17-4 loss on Friday and a dominant 16-8 win on Saturday, the Buckeyes couldn’t sustain momentum and fell 13-5 in Sunday’s rubber match. The series leaves Ohio State at 11-30 overall and 3-18 in Big Ten play, as the team continues to search for consistency in a season marked by growing pains and flashes of offensive firepower.
Friday’s series opener quickly tilted in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers struck early, putting up four runs across the first two innings. Ohio State responded in the third when Sal Mineo singled and Trey Lipsey and Matthew Graveline reached base to load the bags for Tyler Pettorini, who delivered a two-run single to close the gap to 4-2. But the Buckeyes struggled to contain Rutgers’ offense, which racked up runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, including a lightning-delayed sixth where the visitors added four more. Ryan Miller blasted a 420-foot solo home run in the sixth, a bright spot in an otherwise difficult night. Rutgers added five more in the eighth to invoke the mercy rule, securing the 17-4 win. Drew Erdmann took the loss, now 0-6 on the season, despite striking out four.
Saturday brought a different energy and execution from the Buckeyes. Although Rutgers once again opened with two early runs, Ohio State’s bats erupted in the bottom of the first. Graveline walked, Pettorini doubled him home, and Carpenter followed with an RBI double of his own. A rally capped by a two-RBI single from Mineo gave the Buckeyes a 4-2 lead. The game turned into a slugfest, but OSU kept pace, led by a towering 343-foot homer from Miller and a series of timely hits from the heart of the lineup. Graveline, Pettorini, and Miller each had multiple RBIs, while Carpenter, Lipsey, and Simpson helped OSU pull away with a five-run eighth inning that sealed a statement 16-8 win. Douglas Bauer earned the win, improving to 2-1, and Hunter Shaw notched his first save with two solid innings of relief.
Sunday’s decisive game began with promise as Ohio State jumped ahead 2-0 in the first on a clutch two-RBI single from Pettorini, and reclaimed the lead in the second after Graveline’s second RBI double of the weekend made it 4-2. But Rutgers chipped away, scoring in each of the next three innings and capitalizing on Buckeye defensive miscues and timely hitting to take control. A key two-RBI double in the sixth made it 8-4, and the Scarlet Knights padded their lead with three more runs in the ninth. Despite Graveline’s team-leading third hit of the day, and an RBI single in the eighth to give OSU a glimmer of hope, the Buckeyes couldn’t mount a comeback. Gavin Kuzniewski took the loss, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings, while Zak Sigman provided a bright spot in relief, striking out five and allowing just one hit over 2.1 innings.
Throughout the series, Matthew Graveline was the offensive catalyst, tallying multiple hits and RBIs in each game. Pettorini remained productive in the middle of the order, and Miller continued to showcase power at the plate. Yet pitching inconsistencies and defensive lapses ultimately hindered the Buckeyes’ ability to close out the series.
With just a few weeks remaining in Big Ten play, Ohio State will need to regroup quickly and focus on building momentum as it aims to finish the season strong.
