Well this was a huge boost towards the overall record as the BaseBucks went 3-1, and got a step closer to a potential Big Ten tournament berth.
Tuesday's game against Eastern Michigan got cancelled due to a rainout, so Ohio State had their non-con finale on Wednesday, hosting Youngstown State. Ohio State got off to a quick 2-0 lead in the B1 as Henry Kaczmar stole home and Hunter Rosson scored on a wild pitch. The Penguins too, the lead in the T2, but Ohio State responded as Isaac Cadena scored Mason Eckelman and Josh Stevenson with a 2-RBI double, and was then was batted in himself by Kaczmar to give the Buckeyes a 5-3 lead. In the B3, a sac-groundout by Eckelman to score Joseph Mershon and a 2-RBI single by Cadena to score Ryan Miller and Stevenson extended the lead to 8-3. In the B4, Stevenson hit an RBI double to score Mitchell Okuley; sac-flies by Rosson and Mershon to score Cadena and Kaczmar, respectively, in the B5; and an RBI single by Hank Thomas to score Trey Lipsey in the B6 ballooned the lead to 13-3. YSU would score 6 more throughout the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, but that was too little too late as Ohio State held on for the 13-9 win to close the non-conference schedule. Relief pitcher Hunter Shaw earned the win, drawing him even at 2-2 on the year.
| 5/8/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Youngstown State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 13 | 13 | 1 |
The Buckeyes then turned their sights to welcome in Northwestern for the final home series of the season.
Game 1 on Friday was a pitcher's duel for much of the game. Ohio State took the lead in the B2 as Lipsey brought home Tyler Pettorini on a fielder's choice, and held that slim lead until Northwestern tied it in the T6. Then in the B7, Northwestern changed their pitcher, and with two outs, Ohio State took a late lead. The 2-out rally started with Matthew Graveline hitting a 2-RBI triple to score Okuley and Pettorini. Then Stevenson hit an RBI single to score Graveline and was then batted in himself on an RBI double by Cadena as the Buckeyes took a 5-1 lead. The Wildcats got one back in the T8, but a 2-RBI double by Lipsey to score Mershon and Okuley in the B8 put the game away as the Buckeyes earned the 7-2 win. Starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies earned the win, bringing him to 5-7 on the year.
| 5/10/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | X | 7 | 9 | 0 |
Ohio State kept the bats going in Game 2 on Saturday as they got an early lead and really never looked back. The scoring started with a solo homer by Henry Kaczmar in the B1 followed by an RBI single by Okuley to score Pettorini, who then scored on an RBI single by Mershon, who then came home on a throwing error on a double by Miller to give the Buckeyes a quick 4-0 lead. In the B2, Cadena launched a 3-RBI homer, scoring Kaczmar and Lipsey, to bring the lead to 7-0. Ryan Miller then had himself a day as he launched a solo homer in the B3 and a 3-RBI homer, scoring Mershon and Okuley, as Ohio State extended the lead to 11-0. Northwestern effectively cut the lead in half by the T6, but Ohio State put the game on the brink of an early end in the B6 as Pettorini scored on a wild pitch, Mershon scored as Stevenson reached base on an error, and Miller scored on a groundout by Lipsey. The Buckeyes did not get the early ending, but did hold on for a pivotal 14-6 win. Starting pitcher Colin Purcell earned the win, bringing him to 3-4 on the season.
| 5/11/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 14 | 13 | 1 |
Sunday was senior day on the diamond as Mitchell Okuley, Joseph Mershon, Logan Jones, Colin Purcell, Tim Baird, Jacob Morin, Justin Eckhardt, Hunter Rosson, and Hank Thomas all played their last game in Bill Davis Stadium, but Northwestern would spoil the day, and perhaps the season for the Bucks. Ohio State took an early 1-0 lead in the B2 on an RBI single by Stevenson to score Graveline, but Northwestern quickly responded and took a 3-1 lead by the T4. Ohio State could not get anything going the rest of the day as they had 7 total hits and 12 left on base as Northwestern denied Ohio State a much needed sweep. Starting Gavin DeVooght recorded the loss, dropping him to 2-3 on the season.
| 5/12/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
After the 3-1 week, Ohio State sealed a non-losing season, improving to 26-23 (10-11). Youngstown State dropped to 11-39, and Northwestern actually improved (record-wise) to 16-32 (3-18) after a midweek sweep against Eastern Illinois and Milwaukee (Panthers, not Brewers).
Up Next: Ohio State travels to Rutgers for a three game weekend series to close the regular season conference schedule.
Postseason Watch: Ohio State is in a three-way tie in the conference standings with Maryland and Michigan State for the 7th and 8th seeds in the conference tournament. If the tiebreaker is head-to-head series wins, Maryland is 7, Michigan State 8, and Ohio State 9. If the tiebreaker is overall record, which the conference website seems to indicate, Ohio State would be 8, and MSU 9. Minnesota is also lurking at 10th with a 9-12 conference record. Ohio State needs to sweep Rutgers and win one more than Maryland or MSU to secure a conference tournament berth.
