Ohio State came into this week with some momentum after taking two of three from Oregon last week. Those were their first Big Ten wins of the season and their first Big Ten series win of the season as well. They had hoped to use the momentum of upsetting ranked Oregon in two out of three to play well this week, too.
It started rough when the Buckeyes welcomed West Virginia to Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium on Tuesday. Despite home runs from Lee Ellis and Matthew Graveline for the Buckeyes, the #25 ranked Mountaineers would defeat the Buckeyes 9-6. West Virginia is currently 25-4* in 2025. The Bucks then took their first West Coast trip in Big Ten play as they traveled to Los Angeles to play USC.
In game one on Friday night, the Trojans jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Things settled down a little after that, as neither team would score again until the fourth inning. Ohio State would get on the scoreboard when Mason Eckelman hit a single that brought home Tyler Pettorini and Ellis to cut the lead to 5-2.
The Bucks would get another run in the fifth when Nick Giamarusti scored off of a USC wild pitch. That would be the end of the scoring, though, for both teams. USC would win 5-3, and the Buckeyes and Trojans would battle again Saturday afternoon.
USC would get a 2-0 lead before Reggie Bussey would score in the third, followed by Maddix Simpson knocking in Giamarusti in the fourth. Bussey would score again in the fourth, knocked in by Trey Lipsey. The Buckeyes' 3-2 lead didn’t last long as USC tied it in the bottom of the fourth.
Matthew Graveline would get a hit that would allow Ryan Miller to score in the fifth and Ellis would bat Lipsey in in the sixth inning. Ohio State had a 5-3 lead, but SC would score four in the bottom of the sixth. Ohio State would fight back again in the seventh, behind a three-run home run by Lipsey (who was a double away from hitting for the cycle).
TOP 8 | BIG PLAY TREY 😤 A three-run shot from @LipseyTrey puts the Buckeyes back on top, 8-7!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/PsTCPZ65H2
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) April 5, 2025
Lee Ellis would score on a wild pitch, and the Bucks would lead 9-7. But USC’s five-run bottom of the eighth inning couldn’t be answered by the Buckeyes, and the Trojans would win, 12-9
Sunday was more of the same. Tyler Pettorini would swing hard for the Buckeyes. His solo home run in the first gave Ohio State a 1-0 lead.
TOP 1 | THAT BALL IS GONE 💣 @TPettorini hits a bomb to give the Buckeyes the 1-0 lead!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/w3NI9LHTEq
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) April 6, 2025
USC would score three to make it 3-1 before Pettorini would strike again, this time a two-run home run.
USC would again break the tie and surge ahead. Lipsey would knock in Bussey for Ohio State to make it 4-5 in the Trojans' favor. But SC would answer with three more runs to take the 8-4 lead. Ohio State would answer in the sixth inning though. Simpson would knock in Bussey and then Ryan Miller would provide some fireworks.
Miller’s grand slam would make the game 9-8 Buckeyes. Ohio State would take that lead into the bottom of the ninth. An SC home run would tie the game before the Trojans would walk it off with a single and win the game 10-9.
As the Bucks are past the halfway point of the regular season, things have been rough under first-year head coach Justin Haire. Ohio State is 8-20. Wednesday, they’ll have a must-win home game against the Kent State Golden Flashes out of the MAC.
Then, next weekend, they’ll welcome Minnesota to Columbus. The Golden Gophers are 11-17 and are in the Big Ten basement with the Buckeyes. Ohio State wasn’t expecting a College World Series appearance this season, but not being at the bottom of the conference seems a reasonable hope and expectation for Buckeye Nation.