Baseball: Ohio State Falls To Washington 8-6 In Opening Round of Big Ten Tournament

In a back-and-forth affair, No. 6 seed Ohio State saw its Big Ten Tournament opener slip away late Tuesday night, as a triple from Huskies centerfielder Mic Paul in the ninth inning gave No. 11 seed Washington (24-31) the edge over the Buckeyes, 8-6, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

Washington struck first in the top of the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a pair of bases-loaded walks from Ohio State left-handed pitcher Sahil Patel.

Ohio State answered immediately in the bottom half. Second baseman Lee Ellis singled through the left side before designated hitter Grant Mangrum walked. Ellis stole third and advanced Mangrum to second on a passed ball. Left fielder Alex Bemis brought Ellis home with a sacrifice fly before shortstop Henry Kaczmar tied the game at 2-2 with a double to score Mangrum, tying the program record for single-season doubles, held by Ronnie Dawson, with 25.

The Huskies reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single by catcher Ethan Swidler to score right fielder Braeden Terry, and a sacrifice fly by shortstop Sam DeCarlo to score second baseman Ty Cowan, moving ahead 4-2.

The Buckeyes responded again in the bottom of the inning as first baseman Dane Harvey led off with a double before third baseman Maddix Simpson drew a walk. Ohio State catcher Mason Eckelman then lined an RBI double to left-center field to score Harvey, and Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly to score Simpson, evening the score at four apiece.

Washington regained control in the sixth when first baseman Casen Taggart launched a two-run home run to deep right field, giving the Huskies a 6-4 advantage.

Ohio State rallied once more in the eighth inning as Kaczmar opened the frame with his record-setting 26th double of the season, before right fielder Noah Furcht walked. Harvey moved both runners into scoring position with a flyout before Kaczmar scored on a balk. Simpson then evened the game at six with an RBI single that plated Furcht.

The Huskies delivered the decisive blow in the ninth inning after Taggart walked and DeCarlo reached on an error. With two on and two outs, Eckelman couldn’t secure a foul pop-up that was in his glove and would have ended the inning, and Paul capitalized on the extra opportunity by ripping a two-run triple down the right field line to give Washington an 8-6 lead.

Washington right-handed pitcher Tommy Brandenburg shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, recording a flyout and two strikeouts to earn his fifth save of the season. The Huskies’ win over the Buckeyes was the program’s first-ever Big Ten Tournament victory.

Kaczmar led Ohio State offensively with two doubles while continuing his historic season.

Ohio State right-hander Jake Michalak (5-2) took the loss. The junior pitched across 4.1 innings in relief and allowed two earned runs on two hits while striking out three batters. Patel ended the night with a career-high seven strikeouts while allowing four earned runs on two hits and five walks.

No. 6 Ohio State (29-24) will look to keep its season alive as the Buckeyes take on No. 10 Rutgers (26-29) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET in an elimination game at Charles Schwab Field.