Baseball: No. 1 UCLA Defeats Ohio State In Final Two Games Of Weekend Series

After falling 11-1 to No. 1 UCLA (13-2, 3-0 Big Ten) in the series opener, Ohio State (5-9, 0-3 Big Ten) was run-ruled by the Bruins 19-6 in eight innings on Saturday, before the Buckeyes dropped a close 10-7 game Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus.

Ohio State fell behind in the first inning on Saturday on an RBI-double from UCLA right fielder Payton Brennan that scored first baseman Mulivai Levu and third baseman Roman Martin. A RBI single from center fielder Will Gasparino sent Brennan home to extend the Bruins’ lead to three.

Ohio State responded in the bottom half of the inning. After second baseman Henry Kaczmar reached first on a fielding error, catcher Mason Eckelman blasted a two-run home run to right field, bringing his cousin home and trimming the Bruins’ lead to one run.

A Levu home run in the second inning scored shortstop Roch Cholowsky and left fielder Dean West to extend the UCLA advantage back to three.

Following a scoreless bottom of the second for Ohio State, UCLA added to its lead as second baseman Aidan Aguayo hit an RBI-double to right field, scoring Gasparino and advancing catcher Cashel Duggar as Ohio State pulled starter Chris Domke for junior Lincoln McVicker.

McVicker’s first batter faced, West, immediately sent a home run to right center field, scoring Aguayo and Duggar to increase UCLA’s lead to 10-2.

Ohio State added four runs in the bottom half of the inning as a double from Eckelman scored shortstop Lee Ellis and Kaczmar, to cut the Bruins’ lead to six.

Buckeye left fielder Alex Bemis singled to left field before designated hitter Dane Harvey hit his second home run in as many days, narrowing the deficit to 10-6.

Though it was all Bruins from there. Martin scored on a balk in the top of the fourth before UCLA added two more in the sixth on an RBI-double from Gasparino and a RBI-single from Duggar.

However, it was a six-run eighth inning that featured seven walks across three Buckeye pitchers that ultimately secured the Bruins’ 19-6 run-rule victory. Each of the last four walks from Ohio State right-handed Zach Weber scored UCLA baserunners.

Gasparino led UCLA, finishing with four hits and a walk in five plate appearances, including a double. Bemis, Eckelman and Harvey each added two hits for Ohio State, while Kaczmar crossed the plate for a team-high two runs. The Buckeye catcher, Eckelman and Gasparino tied for a game-high four RBIs.

Domke (1-3) took the loss on the mound, giving up nine earned runs on eight hits in 2.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Wylan Moss (1-0) earned the win for UCLA, allowing just one hit and striking out eight batters in 5.0 innings pitched.

Sunday’s series finale was a much tighter contest, as UCLA erased a five-run deficit to defeat Ohio State 10-7, scoring five runs across the final two innings.

After the Buckeyes and Bruins opened the game with two and a half scoreless innings, Ohio State got on the board first in the bottom of the third. First baseman CJ Reid led off with a walk before centerfielder Miles Vandenheuvel reached base on a UCLA error.

Right fielder Noah Furcht followed with an RBI single to right field that scored Reid from second. Kaczmar then drove in Vandenheuvel with a single down the left field line, and a sacrifice bunt by Ellis brought Furcht home to increase the lead to 3-0.

Eckelman later drew a full-count walk, setting the stage for Harvey to rip a double into the right-center gap to score Kaczmar and Eckelman and give the Buckeyes an early five-run advantage.

Though that lead was quickly squandered in the top of the fifth inning as Gasparino’s RBI-single scored Levu and advanced Martin ahead of another RBI-single from Duggar that scored the Bruins’ centerfielder. A three-RBI double from West then evened the game at five.

Ohio State regained the lead in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from third baseman Maddix Simpson that scored Eckelman.

However, a two-run shot from Levu in the eighth inning swayed the advantage back to UCLA at 7-6.

Buckeye freshman pitcher Owen Graf then gave up a bases-loaded walk to extend the Bruins’ lead to two.

UCLA added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI-double by Brennan that scored Cholowsky and advanced Levu to third. Gasparino then sent a sacrifice fly to left field to score Levu and increase the UCLA lead to four.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bemis, Harvey, and Simpson delivered back-to-back singles to load the bases. Vandenheuvel then doubled to center field, bringing Bemis home and trimming UCLA’s lead to three with two outs. However, the Bruins secured the final on Furcht out to secure the 10-7 victory and the series sweep of the Buckeyes.

UCLA right-hander Easton Hawk (2-1) earned the win for UCLA, allowing six hits in 2.1 innings pitched.

Junior Pierce Herrenbruck started the game on the mound for Ohio State, allowing just one earned run on six hits and no walks in 4.1 innings pitched. Graf (0-1) took the loss for the Buckeyes, giving up three earned runs and a hit in three batters faced.

Ohio State will continue its homestand at Bill Davis Stadium on Tuesday at 3 p.m. when the Buckeyes take on Kent State (11-4, 2-1 MAC).

_{Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics}