Ohio State’s baseball team looks like they are starting to find their rhythm. Following a brutal stretch at the end of February and beginning of March that saw the Buckeyes lose eight games in a row, now Justin Haire’s team has won their last four games, and eight of their last nine contests.
After winning just 13 games in his first season as Ohio State’s head coach in 2025, Haire and the Buckeyes are now 14-13 this season.
The latest of those victories was a 10-5 triumph over Toledo on Tuesday night,
which came on the heels of Ohio State’s three-game sweep at Minnesota over the weekend, which marked the first Big Ten sweep for the Buckeyes since the end of the 2023 regular season when they took three games from Michigan.
The game against the Rockets at Bill Davis Stadium kicked off a nine-game home stand.
Toledo jumped out to an early lead, holding a 3-0 advantage after two innings. Ohio State’s offense got going in the fourth inning, scoring five runs to take their first lead of the game when two runs scored on a single by Henry Kaczmar.
The Buckeye shortstop had two hits in the game and now has a 15-game hitting streak. Kaczmar leads the team with a .336 average and 59 total bases this season.
The Rockets tied the game back up at 5-5 in the sixth inning on a two-run single, but the score wasn’t knotted for long. In the bottom of the inning Ohio State took the lead for good on a passed ball which allowed Miles Vandenheuvel to score.
The Buckeyes added to their lead when Alex Bemis crushed a three-run homer to center field. The big fly was the fifth on the season for Bemis, tying him with Kaczmar, Miles Eckelman, and Dane Harvey for the team lead.
Ryan Butler started Tuesday’s contest for the Buckeyes, pitching the first three innings, which was the longest of his four starts so far this season. After Butler departed from the game, five other pitchers combined to finish out the game for the Buckeyes.
Jake Michalak ended up being credited with the victory, his fourth win of the season. Michalak is one of four Ohio State relievers to appear in at least 10 games this season and currently hold an ERA under 4.00. The others are Andrew Edrington, Luke Carrell, and Ryan Zamora.
Starting the three-game series against Maryland this weekend will likely be Gavin Kuzniewski, Pierce Herrenbruck, and Chris Domke. Kuzniewski has been the ace of the staff with a 2-1 record, 4.29 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched.
The sophomore from Indiana had a complete game shutout earlier in the season when he pitched seven innings in the 11-0 win over Butler that was called early due to the mercy rule. Herrenbruck also has a 2-1 record with a 4.50 ERA.
On the offensive side, the other batter aside from Henry Kaczmar with an average over .300 is catcher Mason Eckelman, who is batting .303 through 27 games. Along with being tied for the team lead with five home runs, Eckelman leads the team with 33 runs batted in.
The 54 bases has accumulated on the season is second on the team behind Kaczmar. The other Buckeyes who have totaled at least 40 bases this year are Noah Furcht, Harvey, Bemis, and Lee Ellis.
This weekend Ohio State will host Maryland, who has a 13-15 record on the season. The Terrapins have won the majority of their games this year in non-conference play, as they enter this weekend’s games with just a 2-7 record in the Big Ten, which is tied for last in the conference.
By comparison, the Buckeyes are 4-5 in Big Ten play, which is tied for eighth in the conference with Rutgers.
The Terrapins are slumping entering the three-game series in Columbus, having lost six of their last eight games. Some of the reason for the recent poor play can be attributed to playing UCLA and USC, who took five of six games from Maryland. The Terrapins did receive a bit of a confidence boost on Tuesday when they routed Richmond 19-4 in seven innings in College Park.
One player Ohio State’s pitchers will have to be careful with this weekend is Ryan Costello. The redshirt freshman has socked 11 home runs and driven in 34 runs, both of which are the highest marks on the team. Brayden Martin and Rylen Stockton are also dangerous hitters for the Terrapins, with both hitters totaling over 50 bases so far this season.
With their recent success at the plate, Ohio State should be able to knock around the Maryland pitchers. As a group, the hurlers for the Terrapins have a 7.39 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. On the other side, the Buckeye pitchers have a 5.74 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.
Ohio State should be able to continue their recent hot streak and take at least two of three from Maryland this weekend and possibly move a little higher in the Big Ten standings.
