Baseball: Ohio State To Play In Grind City Classic Against Memphis, Louisiana Tech

Ohio State (3–0) travels to Memphis this weekend for the Grind City Classic after sweeping St. Louis in Pensacola, Fla. last weekend. The Buckeyes will face Louisiana Tech (4-1) and Memphis (2-2) twice each from Friday through Sunday at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field in Memphis, Tenn.

Ohio State opens play Friday at 1 p.m. against Louisiana Tech prior to facing the tournament’s host, Memphis, at 6 p.m. that evening. The Buckeyes will then take on Louisiana Tech again on Saturday at 6 p.m. before closing the weekend with a second game against Memphis at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Fresh off their first series sweep under head coach Justin Haire, the Buckeyes opened the season 3–0 for the first time since 2022, outscoring the Billikens 17–6 over the three-game set.

Pitchers Zak Sigman, Chris Domke and Jude Fisher each earned victories on the mound, combining for 13 strikeouts across their outings, while Douglas Bauer secured the season’s first save in Game 2 of the series.

Ohio State is projected to start RHP Chris Domke (1-0, 0.00 ERA) against Louisiana Tech on Friday, RHP Gavin Kuzniewski (0-0, 0.00 ERA) against Memphis on Friday, RHP Jude Fisher (1-0, 1.80 ERA) on Saturday and RHP Pierce Herrenbruck (0-0, 4.50 ERA) on Sunday.

East Arizona transfer Miles Vandenheuvel, who is listed as a right-handed pitcher/ infielder, but has played center field for Ohio State in 2026, tops the Buckeyes with a .444 batting average after the opening series. Vandenheuvel totaled four hits and a run against the Billikens.

Junior shortstop Lee Ellis leads Ohio State with five runs scored and four stolen bases, adding three hits and five RBIs to post a team-best .625 slugging percentage and .571 on-base percentage.

Starting first baseman and Hutchinson Community College transfer CJ Reid recorded the most at-bats (12) for Ohio State in its opening series, but recorded a team-leading four RBIs.

Memphis opened its year with a 2-1 series win over Toledo before falling to Arkansas-Little Rock in a tight 12-11 loss.

The Tigers feature several offensive threats, including outfielder Webb Watson, who leads the team with a .500 batting average and a .800 slugging percentage, while graduate infielder Javon Hernandez has already scored eight runs.

Memphis’ power hitters like infielder Shane Cox have also been hot, leading the Tigers with seven hits and adding two multiple doubles in 19 at-bats.

The Tigers have seen five different players hit home runs this season.

Watson connected for a homer in Game 2 against the Rockets, while infielder Tyler Harrington, outfielder Michael Gupton, catcher Seth Giamportone and outfielder/RHP James Smith IV each went deep in the loss to the Trojans.

The Tigers are slated to roll out RHP Seth Garner (0-1, 10.80 ERA), RHP Will Howell (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and LHP David Case (1-0, 3.00 ERA) against the Buckeyes and Bulldogs, while Memphis will stick with the same lineup it fielded during its opening series against Toledo.

Case earned an American Conference Pitcher of the Week honorable mention last week, recording the win with seven strikeouts in Memphis’ Game 3 victory over the Rockets.

Louisiana Tech began its 2026 campaign with a four-game sweep over Houston Christian, run-ruling the Huskies in seven innings twice in four tries. The Bulldogs are most recently coming off an 8-3 loss to McNeese State.

The Bulldogs will pitch RHP Declan Dahl (1-0, 1.80 ERA), LHP Hudson Rowan (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and RHP Brooks Roberson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) over the weekend. Dahl leads the team with six strikeouts over five innings pitched, while Hudson and Roberson have the lowest batting averages allowed among pitchers with more than two innings, at .063 and .105, respectively.

Louisiana Tech infielder Colby Lunsford leads the Bulldogs with 11 hits, while ranking first on the team with four home runs and second with nine RBIs. Lunsford also recorded 26 total bags, which is double that of the Bulldogs next-best mark of 13 from outfielder Sebastian Mexico.

Outfielder Cade Patterson boasts a team-high 12 RBI, while Mexico is second on the Bulldogs with seven hits and third with five RBI. Senior catcher Matt Houston leads Louisiana Tech with a 1.429 slugging percentage and is third with a .571 batting average.

Louisiana Tech ranks 15th in the nation in home runs with nine through five games.

_{Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics}