Ohio State swept its rival Michigan (32-22, 17-13 Big Ten) in its final series of the regular season, defeating the Wolverines 13-2 in seven innings on Thursday, 7-3 on Friday and 8-1 on Sunday at the Wilpon Baseball Complex at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ohio State’s sweep over the Wolverines marked the first time the Buckeyes had swept Michigan in Ann Arbor since 1994.
Ohio State opened the series with a dominant 13-2 run-rule victory in seven innings on Friday, avenging two run-rule losses — including a 23-1 blowout — in last year’s series against Michigan.
Buckeyes right-hander Pierce Herrenbruck hit Michigan right fielder Greg Pace Jr. with the bases loaded, giving the Wolverines a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Though Ohio State answered in the fourth as first baseman Dane Harvey smashed a home run to left-center field to tie the game.
In the fifth inning, shortstop Henry Kaczmar hit the Buckeyes’ second homer of the day with a two-run shot that scored left fielder Alex Bemis, giving Ohio State a 3-1 lead. After right fielder Noah Furcht grounded out, Harvey crushed his second home run of the day to extend Ohio State’s advantage to three. The home run was Harvey’s 19th of the year and tied the Buckeyes’ single-season record.
Michigan answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Bemis singled to score second baseman Lee Ellis in the sixth, extending the Buckeyes’ lead back to three.
Ohio State then caught fire in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs bookended by a pair of home runs by Furcht, to increase the lead to 13-2. Buckeye junior Ryan Zamora then shut the door on the Wolverines, allowing just one hit and striking out one batter in a scoreless inning to cap Ohio State’s seven-inning run-rule victory over Michigan.
Herrenbruck (6-3) was dominant in the win, allowing just two earned runs with five hits allowed and four strikeouts.
Furcht led all batters with four RBI, while Kaczmar followed close behind with three. Harvey totaled a team-high three hits and three runs.
In game two, Ohio State got on the board first in the second with a single from Ellis that scored Harvey, though Michigan answered with two runs of its own to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the inning.
In the fifth inning, Ohio State designated hitter Grant Mangrum evened the game at two with a 364-foot bomb to left field.
Kaczmar and Furcht opened the sixth inning with back-to-back singles. Harvey then singled to right field to score Kaczmar, before third baseman Maddix Simpson hit a sacrifice fly to center field, sending Furcht home and give the Buckeyes a 4-2 lead.
Michigan third baseman Brayden Jefferis homered to right field in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to one.
Ohio State then extended its lead in the eighth inning as Bemis singled to left field to score Ellis and catcher Mason Eckelman, giving the Buckeyes a 6-3 lead. Furcht then hit a sacrifice fly to Mangrum, increasing Ohio State’s advantage to four.
The Buckeyes then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to claim a 7-3 victory in game two.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Gavin Kuzniewski (6-2) earned the win after pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out three across 25 batters faced.
Bemis led Ohio State with two RBI and had two walks. Kaczmar and Harvey both had two hits in the victory.
Ohio State’s game two win marked the first time since 1999 that the Buckeyes had claimed a series in Ann Arbor.
In the first inning of game three, the Buckeyes raced out to a lead the Wolverines could never recover from. Furcht and Harvey began Ohio State’s hot start as both were hit by pitches. Simpson then singled through the left side to score Furcht and give Ohio State a 1-0 lead before Eckelman walked to load the bases.
Ellis then sent a three-RBI double to right-center field, clearing the bases and increasing Ohio State’s lead to 4-0.
Michigan’s Jefferis homered in the fourth to cut the lead to three, but that would be the extent of the Wolverines’ offensive attack.
The Buckeyes added one more run in the seventh before finishing off their win with a trio of runs in the ninth to secure Ohio State’s 8-1 victory and series sweep.
Right-hander Chris Domke became the first Buckeye to throw a 9.0 inning complete game in five years. He allowed just three hits and struck out six Wolverines.
Ellis led all batters with three RBI, while Simpson and Eckelman each led Ohio State with two runs scored.
Ohio State (29-23, 18-12 Big Ten) will now turn its attention to the Big Ten tournament, which will be held from Tuesday to Sunday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
