In its home finale, Ohio State fell to Wright State (25-23) 8-4 on Tuesday night at Bill Davis Stadium as the Raiders jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings that the Buckeyes could never recover from.
Ohio State head coach Justin Haire did not hold back in his assessment of the Buckeyes’ offensive performance.
“We weren’t locked in. We were terrible. It’s hard to be good when you’re terrible and we were terrible,” Haire said. “We got ourselves out. We swung outside of the zone. A ton early contact, swinging of pitches that we weren’t sitting on. It was as lackluster of a performances as we’ve had in a long time, and it was very, very disappointing.”
On the very first at-bat of the game, Wright State second baseman Hunter Warren took Ohio State left-hander Sahil Patel deep to give the Raiders an early 1-0 lead.
Wright State center fielder Andrew Duncan was hit by a pitch before Keegan Holmstrom singled to first base, and though Dane Harvey corralled the hit, a throwing error from the Buckeye first baseman allowed Duncan to advance to third.
Raiders right fielder Cy Turner then bunted to score Duncan, giving Wright State a 2-0 lead.
After Ohio State went scoreless in the bottom of the inning, Wright State catcher Nate Manley hit a ground-rule double over the centerfield fence to begin the second. Third baseman Patrick Fultz then singled to left field, moving Manley to third. Warren then singled to right field to score Manley and a double from Duncan scored Fultz and increased the lead to four. Holmstrom then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to send home Warren, giving the Raiders a 5-0 advantage.
Ohio State catcher Mason Eckelman opened the bottom of the inning with a walk before second baseman Lee Ellis was hit by a pitch and right fielder Jacob Parr advanced to first on a throwing error by Warren, loading the bases.
Mangrum then singled to shortstop to score Eckelman, and third baseman CJ Reid reached on a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat to cut into Wright State’s lead at 5-2.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the third for the Raiders, Harvey homered to center field, cutting Wright State’s lead to two. It marked his 17th home run of the season, just two shy of tying Ohio State’s single-season record set by Zach DeZenzo (2022) and Dan Seimetz (1997).
Wright State added another run in the top of the fifth inning on a throwing error from Reid, extending the lead back to three at 6-3.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Duncan homered to open the seventh for Wright State.
Despite putting runners on second and third base in the bottom of the inning, Ohio State stranded both runners, and the Raiders preserved their four-run lead.
Wright State then extended its advantage to 8-3 at the top of the eighth as Fultz smashed a two-run shot that hit the Buckeyes’ scoreboard in right-center field.
Ohio State answered in the bottom of the inning as shortstop Henry Kaczmar hit a solo home run to left field, cutting Wright State’s lead to four.
Wright State then sealed its 8-4 victory with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, claiming the season sweep over Ohio State.
Patel (1-1) took the loss on the mound, allowing eight hits and four earned runs over 4.0 innings pitched. The junior threw five strikeouts and walked one in 22 batters faced.
Wright State sophomore left-hander Evan Boeckmann (1-0) earned the win after allowing just one hit in 3.1 innings.
Ohio State left fielder Alex Bemis and Ellis recorded a team-high two hits. Warren recorded a game-high three hits for Wright State.
Kaczmar believed the Buckeyes’ pitching performance was solid despite the loss, especially against a quality opponent.
“I mean, obviously we’re playing a good opponent this weekend. I thought our pitching tonight wasn’t bad, they got a few good hits. They got a good team. They got a couple good players at the top of the lineup and regardless, I feel like our pitchers threw the ball well,” Kaczmar said. “Jack Cecil coming in and Sahil, figuring it out after those first two innings.”
Kaczmar continued, stating the Buckeyes are putting the loss in the rearview and turning their attention to Michigan and the postseason Big Ten tournament as they look to regain momentum.
“I feel like we can just get a little more confidence,” Kaczmar said. “We just had a team meeting in there, and just kind of said, ‘you know, screw it. We got Big Ten tournament coming up, and biggest series of the year (against Michigan).’ So I’m looking forward to that.”
Ohio State (26-23, 15-12 Big Ten) will cap off its regular season with a three-game series against rival Michigan (32-19, 17-10 Big Ten) on Thursday at 6 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Wilpon Complex at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
