Baseball: Ohio State’s offense struggles as the Buckeyes get swept in home-opening series against Georgetown

Mark Metz
Mon, 25 Mar 2024 23:42:24 +0000
Baseball, Instagram Page, News, Sports, Alonzo Paul Jr., Andrew Edrington, Andrew See, baseball, Ben Schechterman, Bill Mosiello, Blaine Wynk, Buck Taylor, Buckeyes, Chase Herrell, Christian Pownall, CJ Richard, Clay Burdette, Colin Purcell, college baseball, Damon Lessler, Gavin Bruni, Gavin DeVooght, George Eisenhardt, Hank Thomas, Henry Kaczmar, Hunter Rosson, Hunter Shaw, Isaac Cadena, Isaiah Leeth, Jacob Morin, Jake Michalak, Jaylen Jones [and 29 more]

Junior outfielder Nick Giamarusti (7) dives headfirst into home plate during Ohio State’s 4-2 loss to Georgetown. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer

During a weekend with over 20 mph wind gusts and bundled-up fans, the Buckeye baseball squad fell flat against the Hoyas. The team dropped below a .500 win percentage for the first time since the inaugural game of the 2024 season.

After coming off a 26-run domination over West Virginia on March 17, the Buckeyes put up a mere eight runs in three games and left a whopping 33 men on base in the series.

“We got our butts kicked,” Ohio State head coach Bill Mosiello said. “We got out-coached, we got out-played and we got out-competed.”

The Buckeyes (10-11, 0-0 Big Ten) and the Hoyas (16-7, 0-0 Big East) were both faced with miserable weather, but Mosiello said winning teams are supposed to adjust.

“The weather isn’t why we played bad,” Mosiello said. “It’s flabbergasting. We’re just not doing things that winning teams do.”

On Friday, Ohio State lost the home opener 5-1 as the powerful Buckeye offense was shut down.

The Georgetown offense started off hot against sophomore ace Landon Beidelschies with a first-pitch single to right field and then a blistering home-run shot from Hoyas dominant first baseman Christian Ficca, which gave Georgetown the 2-0 advantage in the top of the first.

The Buckeyes cut the lead to one in the bottom of the first, drawing three walks and a hit-by-pitch and sending junior outfielder Trey Lipsey home.

The Hoyas escaped trouble in the bottom of the fifth after graduate outfielder Mitchell Okuley struck out with the bases loaded, keeping the score at 2-1.

Freshman reliever Zach Brown entered the game in the top of the seventh and Georgetown hit him well. Three more Hoyas runs were scored after an RBI single and a two-RBI double down the right-field line, extending Georgetown’s lead to four, 5-1.

Freshman Chase Herrell has transitioned from starter to reliever for the Buckeyes as he delivered a strong two-inning performance that featured three strikeouts.

The Buckeyes offense was retired in order in the eighth and ninth innings, ending the game with a 5-1 loss. Ohio State could only muster up four hits in the 30-degree weather.

Beidelschies earned the loss to make his 2024 record 2-4 despite a relatively strong performance. He struck out five in six innings pitched while allowing two runs on three hits.

The biggest changing point in the first inning for Beidelschies was the mound visit by pitching coach Sean Allen, he said.

“He came out just to kind of slow me down and give me a breather,” Beidelschies said. “I got ambushed a couple of times quickly out there, so I just needed a breather and I needed to make better quality pitches.”

Ohio State suffered an 8-5 loss in the second game of the series after squandering a two-run lead to Georgetown.

The Buckeyes were the first team to score on Saturday when a single from Pettorini sent sophomore shortstop Henry Kaczmar home and a suicide squeeze from graduate Joseph Mershon scored catcher Matthew Graveline, giving Ohio State a 2-0 lead.

Senior starter Colin Purcell breezed through the first two innings before giving up an RBI single in the top of the third, making the score 2-1.

Both teams remained scoreless until the top of the fifth when Purcell got into some trouble with a solo home run and a two-RBI double forcing him to leave the game. Sophomore Blaine Wynk entered the game, but gave up three straight walks, putting the Hoyas up 6-2.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Buckeyes showed a little life when Lipsey hammered a two-RBI single to center field, which cut the Georgetown lead to two, 6-4.

Ohio State pulled within one run in the bottom of the seventh inning when junior left fielder Nick Giamarusti and Kaczmar walked to start the inning. Giamarusti scored on a wild pitch but the Buckeyes left two runners on as they trailed by one, 6-5.

The Hoyas scored two more runs in the top of the eighth inning to finish Ohio State off with an RBI single and RBI triple, ending the game at 8-5.

Purcell took his third loss of the season while Kaczmar’s 18-game hitting streak finally came to an end. Kaczmar, however, has still reached base in all 20 of the Buckeyes’ games this season.

Freshman outfielder CJ Richard got his first collegiate start for Ohio State as Okuley, the team captain, eased him into this game, he said.

“I just told CJ to have fun,” Okuley said. “It’s just another game for him. He’s such a great kid — he’s gonna have a lot of success in career so just go out there and play the way you know how to play.”

In the series finale, the Hoyas completed the three-game sweep on the Buckeyes in an extra-inning affair.

The game started with a pitching duel as numerous scouts were in attendance to watch the battle between Ohio State’s Gavin Bruni and Georgetown’s Everett Catlett, two powerful left-handed pitchers. Catlett stands at 6 feet, 7 inches tall while commanding a lethal 96 mph fastball.

The Buckeyes, however, jumped on Catlett for the first lead in the bottom of the third when Giamarusti grounded into a double play which scored center fielder Josh Stevenson from third. An error from the Hoyas sent Kaczmar home to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead.

The Hoyas remained hitless until the bottom of the fifth when a bases-loaded walk cut the Ohio State lead in half, 2-1.

Both offenses were shut down until the top of the ninth when captain and closer Justin Eckhardt couldn’t escape the Hoyas offense. Georgetown was down to its last two outs when a double followed by an RBI single tied the ballgame up.

Ohio State had a golden opportunity with two men on in the bottom of the ninth, but two straight outs ended a rally for the Buckeyes.

In the top of the tenth inning, a two-out rally from the Hoyas bats propelled Georgetown over the Buckeyes to sweep the series with a final score of 4-2.

Wynk and Thomas avenged their previous outings in the series as they combined for 3.3 innings of scoreless baseball in their relief appearances. Mosiello emphasized the importance of throwing them back out there on the mound after a bad outing.

“The fragility of a baseball player and an athlete for that matter is very important,” Mosiello said. “They both had a really tough outing last time out and got back in there and they were both outstanding.”

This series doesn’t define the Buckeyes baseball squad, Mosiello said.

“It’s tough but it doesn’t dictate next weekend or Tuesday for that matter,” Mosiello said. “We just got to start going out and just playing ball.”

The Buckeyes will face Kent State Tuesday at 5 p.m., at Bill Davis Stadium before the Boilermakers come to town Friday for a three-game series, which will be the Buckeyes’ first Big Ten competition.