Well, on the heels of a series loss to the main rivals, this last week was almost worse. All the struggles from the season just came to a head. Blown leads, stranded runners, terrible pitching, and giving up (multiple) runs with two outs all contributed to a 1-3 week and a home conference series loss.
On Tuesday, Ohio State made a return trip to Wright State, Ohio State took a quick 1-0 lead in the T1 off a Joseph Mershon RBI double to score Matthew Graveline, but Wright State took the lead in a 3-run B1. They extended the lead to 4-1 in the B3, but a grand slam by Hunter Rosson to score Mason Eckelman, Will Henson, and Ryan Miller gave the Buckeyes a 5-4 lead in the T4. In the T5, Mershon was walked with the bases loaded to plate Henry Kaczmar, Zach Fjelstad was hit by a pitch which allowed Graveline to score, then a fielder's choice by Nick Giamarusti and a sac-groundout by Eckelman allowed Mitchell Okuley and Mershon, respectively, to score and give the BaseBucks a 9-4 lead.
Then disaster struck, and an 8-run B5 inning gave Wright State a 12-9 lead. Ohio State cut the lead to 1 off bases loaded walks by Trey Lipsey and Kaczmar to plate Mershon and Will Henson, respectively, in the T7. Then the Buckeyes took a late 13-12 lead in the T9 off a sac-groundout by Lipsey, and a sac-fly by Kaczmar to score Miller and Josh Stevenson, respectively. Then in the B9, Ohio State got two of the first three batters out, but then after two strikes, a throwing error by the pitcher allowed Wright State to tie the game, and then win the game 14-13 on the very next pitch. Closing pitcher Justin Eckhardt recorded the loss, dropping him to 0-2.
| 4/23/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| Wright State | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 1 |
After that, the Buckeyes returned home for a weekend series with Michigan State.
In Game 1 on Friday, Ohio State could not get anything going at all. Michigan State built a 4-0 lead by the T4. Ohio State cut the lead in half in the B4 on a sac-groundout by Tyler Pettorini and a sac-fly by Mershon to score Kaczmar and Graveline, respectively. However, the Spartans rattled off 6 straight runs to extend the lead to 10-2 by the T8. Ohio State got 2 back on a 2-run homer by Kaczmar to score Lipsey, but at that point it was too little too late as MSU got 1 more in the T9 to take the 11-4 series opening win. Starting pitcher Landon Beidelshies recorded the loss, dropping him to 4-7.
| 4/26/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Michigan State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
Game 2 on Saturday was a much better day offensively, but also much worse defensively. After scoring in the last 3 innings on Friday, Michigan State scored in the first 7 innings. They got off to a 4-0 lead by the T2, but a 3-run homer by Rosson to score Giamarusti and Mershon in the B2 cut the Spartan lead to 4-3. MSU got 1 back in the T3, but in the B3, Ohio State used a 2-RBI double by Okuley to score Mershon and Pettorini, and RBI singles by Rosson to score Okuley and Kaczmar to score Rosson to take a 8-5 lead. But then, with another huge inning for the opponent, MSU took a 12-8 lead after a 6-run T4 and 1 more in the T5. Ohio State tied the game in the B5 off an RBI double by Rosson to score Giamarusti and a 3-run homer by Lipsey to score Rosson and Stevenson. Then in the T6, after two quick outs, Michigan State loaded the bases and proceeded to score 4 runs to take a 16-12 lead. The Buckeye offense then ran out of gas, as the Spartans took the series in a 17-12 win. Relief pitcher Jacob Morin recorded his first loss, dropping him to 4-1.
| 4/28/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Michigan State | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 16 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 2 |
Game 3 on Sunday was the only bright spot of the week. Michigan State got off to a 3-0 lead in the T2, but Ohio State kept chipping away, tying it by the B3 off a sac-fly by Okuley to score Pettorini in the B2 and a 2-run homer by Kaczmar to score Lipsey in the B3. Ohio State took an 8-6 lead in the B5 thanks to an RBI double by Lipsey to score Giamarusti, then scoring on a throwing error, followed by a sac-groundout by Pettorini to score Kaczmar, an RBI single by Graveline to score Rosson, and a sac fly by Stevenson to score Graveline. This time, the Buckeyes held on to the lead, and even extended it on a 2-run homer by Rosson to score Kaczmar in the B6, as the Buckeyes finished off the 10-6 win to avoid the sweep. Relief pitcher Blaine Wynk earned the win, his first decision of the year.
| 4/28/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Michigan State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 12 | 2 |
After the 1-3 week, Ohio State dropped to 20-20 (7-8), Wright State improved to 25-18 after a sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne, and Michigan State improved to 19-21 (7-8).
Up Next, Ohio State hosts 25-19 Cincinnati on Tuesday and 11-32 Akron on Wednesday before a weekend visit to 25-15 (11-4) Big Ten leader Illinois.
Postseason watch: Ohio State is currently in 8th place in the Big Ten, right on the verge of missing the conference tournament.
