The @TPettorini home run stats you were all waiting for 💣#GoBucks https://t.co/56PB5iDVAN pic.twitter.com/v8mqRxG0Tv
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) February 23, 2025
The Ohio State Buckeyes looked like they might recover well from the season-opening sweep at the hands of Arizona State in Phoenix last week. They got off to a good start by getting their first win of 2025 in an upset over #12 N.C. State. The Buckeyes beat the Wolfpack 8-3 on Friday to get the weekend off to a good start. They struggled a little bit on Saturday with a 10-8, 11-inning loss to Coastal Carolina, but the defining game came on Sunday against Alabama.
Ohio State got out to a fantastic start. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead! Bama chipped away at it in the fourth inning, making it a 10-3 game going into the bottom of the seventh. Then the Tide cut the lead to three, making it a 10-7 game.
In the eighth, they got two more runs making it 10-9 going into the ninth. The Buckeye bats that had been hot early got cold late, and the pitching continued its stumbling. In the bottom of the ninth, with one out, Alabama hit a three-run home run to win the game 12-10 and complete the comeback.
Alabama is an 8-0 team and Ohio State is a 1-5 team, but you can be the AA Dayton Dragons against the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, and if you jump out to a 10-0 lead, you should win the game! There are no excuses for that kind of loss. It can be crippling.
As much as the 8-3 win over N.C. State could have been a win that the team could build on the rest of the season; this loss will be one that weighs on the Buckeyes for the rest of this season. It will be no easy task, but it will be up to Coach Haire to focus the Buckeyes on the good wins over the bad losses as this season continues.
Next weekend, the Buckeyes will head to Arlington, Texas, for another early-season showcase, this time the 2025 College Baseball Series. On Friday, February 28th, they play Auburn, on Saturday, March 1st, they play Baylor, and on Sunday, March 2nd, they play Oregon State.
On Tuesday, March 4th, they’ll have their home opening day against St. John’s on Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus.