Ohio State (5-7, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped its fifth-consecutive game and conference opener to No. 1 UCLA (11-2, 1-0 Big Ten), 11-1, Friday at Bill Davis Stadium. The Bruins built a 7-0 lead after just two innings, a deficit the Buckeyes were unable to overcome.
UCLA starter Logan Reddemann (4-0) pitched six scoreless innings for the Bruins, giving up just three hits, while striking out 10 of 22 batters faced.
Ohio State head coach Justin Haire discussed the difficulty of going up against one of the nation’s top pitchers in Reddemann, pointing out where the Buckeyes came up short.
“The dude is 4-0 for a reason. He doesn’t give you a lot of room to breathe. I think he’s four walks, 23 strikeouts so it’s really high level stuff. It’s 94 to 97 miles per hour, three or four different pitches and kind of throws to both sides of the plate,” Haire said. “You have to be really disciplined, really tough with two strikes and we just didn’t do a very good job of regulating our emotions and battling through some of that, but he’s really good, man.”
UCLA struck first in the top of the first inning. After a walk to shortstop Roch Cholowsky and a single by first baseman Mulivai Levu put runners on the corners, third baseman Roman Martin hit an RBI double to score Cholowsky.
A soft chopper from center fielder Will Gasparino let the nation’s home run leader (10) reach base when Buckeyes third baseman Maddix Simpson made a throwing error, allowing Levu to score.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, designated Dominic Cadiz drew a walk to bring in another run and extend the Bruins’ lead to 3-0.
Ohio State catcher Mason Eckelman doubled to get the Buckeyes on the bag after back-to-back strikeouts from centerfielder Miles Vandenheuvel and shortstop Lee Ellis. Though after right fielder Noah Furcht was hit by a pitch, Ohio State left both baseruners on as second baseman Henry Kaczmar struck out swinging.
The Bruins continued the early damage in the top of the second as following a hit by pitch on first baseman Dean West, Cholowsky smashed a 428-foot home run to increase UCLA’s advantage to five.
Two batters after Martin advanced to first on a fielder’s choice, Gasparino cracked a two-run 391-foot bomb over the left field fence to add UCLA’s lead at 7-0.
Ohio State went three-up, three-down in the bottom of the second and third, and UCLA did the same in the top of the third.
Cholowsky then opened the top of the fourth with a walk for the Bruins, before Levu hit a line-drive single right over second base.
A wild pitch from Buckeye right-hander Gavin Kuzniewski advanced both UCLA batters, then the sophomore pitcher walked Bruins right fielder Payton Brennan to load the bases.
After Gasparino struck out swinging, Dugger reached first on an infield-single and fielding error by Ohio State first baseman CJ Reid, scoring Cholowsky to extend UCLA’s lead to eight.
Ohio State brought in junior left-hander Sahil Patel at the start of the fifth, and he delivered a clean three-up, three-down inning for the Buckeyes.
With two outs in the fifth, Ohio State left fielder Alex Bemis and Reid delivered back-to-back hits between second and short, but were ultimately left stranded as Vandenheuvel struck out swinging to end the inning.
UCLA opened the sixth inning with a Levu fly-out, before Martin sent a single over Simpson’s head to left field. Though he was left stranded after Gasparino struck out swinging.
Ohio State’s Ellis and Furcht each sent a shot to the warning track in the bottom of the sixth, but both were tracked down by Gasparino to end the inning.
After the Buckeyes shut out the Bruins in the top of the seventh on the heels of double play followed by a groundout from West, Ohio State bounced back in the bottom of the inning.
UCLA pulled starter Logan Reddemann in favor of senior left-hander Ian May. With two outs and the bases empty, Ohio State first baseman Dane Harvey hit a 389-foot home run to right-center, trimming the Bruins’ lead to 8-1. Bemis walked immediately following Harvey’s homer, a fly-out to center field by Reid ended the inning.
While Haire said he was excited for Harvey, he noted that the first baseman watched the ball trail over the fence instead of exploding out of the batter’s box, adding that the moment will serve as a learning experience for him.
“I was obviously happy for Dane, but again I told him, ‘Hey, we’re down eight to nothing, man and you walk out of the box, just put your head down and trot around the bases like you got it,’” Haire said. “He’s been working extremely hard. So it’s part of that process of growing, learning and playing the game with respect and playing it the right way, because all those details matter.”
However, UCLA quickly responded in the eighth as after Cholowsky took a walk from Patel, Levu smacked a home run to left field to put the Bruins into double digits, and give them a 10-1 lead. Patel pitched four innings, allowing just two earned runs.
Following a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Ohio State replaced Patel with junior right-hander Jack Cecil in the final inning. Cecil opened the inning with two straight walks, before hitting Cholowsky to load the bases for UCLA.
UCLA added another run on a ground out from Levu, scoring outfielder Aidan Espinoza as the Bruins pushed their advantage to 10.
Despite a single from Simpson between second and short, Bruins right-handed pitcher Zach Strickland closed the Buckeyes out with UCLA’s 11-1 victory. Ohio State batters were left on base a total of seven times in the loss.
Kuzniewski (0-1) started on the mound for Ohio State for the first four innings, throwing 92 pitches while allowing six hits, four walks and five earned runs, resulting in his first loss of the season for the Buckeyes.
Levu led the team with a 4-for-6 performance at the plate, driving in three RBIs and hitting a home run. Ohio State finished with just five hits on the night.
Despite the loss, Haire emphasized that the team’s mindset moving forward will be crucial, stressing that each game presents a new opportunity regardless of the previous result.
“Tomorrow isn’t dictated by today. They don’t get to show up in up 10 in the first inning before the first pitch is thrown,” Haire said. “Tomorrow is its own day. It’s its own entity, it’s its own game. It’s its own mini season. We’ve got to be able to regulate our emotions. We’ve got to be able to stay focused, and if we can just go play our game, how we’re capable of playing, then we’re going to have an opportunity to win the game.”
Ohio State continues its series against UCLA on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. at Bill Davis Stadium.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
