After a year off, Ohio State returned to Omaha for the conference tournament, and it was a lousy way to start. However, with the double elimination bracket, the BaseBucks have one last chance to make a run.

As the 6 seed, Ohio State faced 11 seed Washington, who won the series against the Buckeyes 2-1 in Seattle. Starting pitcher Sahil Patel started off well, striking out 5 of the first 7 Husky batters, but that quickly faltered as he then allowed 4 walks that brought in two runs as Washington drew first blood in the T3. Ohio State quickly responded as Lee Ellis came home on a sac-fly by Alex Bemis, and then Henry Kaczmar broke the Buckeyes single season double record as he brought Grant Mangrum in on an RBI double to tie the game in the B3. The Huskies scored another 2 in the T4, and then Mason Eckelman doubled to send Dane Harvey home and Maddix Simpson came home on a sac-fly by Lee Ellis to tie the game again in the B4. A 2 run home run in the T6 gave Washington the lead again until the B8 when. Kaczmar came home on a Washington balk, followed by Noah Furcht who came home on an RBI single by Simpson to tie the game heading to the final frame. A 2-RBI triple in the T9 gave Washington the lead back, and this time they would not relinquish it as two of the four Buckeye batters in the B9 were struck out, giving Washington the 8-6 win. Relief Pitcher Jake Machalak recorded the loss, dropping him to 5-3, as he allowed 4 runs on 2 hits through 4.1 innings.

Now in the elimination bracket, Ohio State has little breathing room, but in game 2 of the tournament, the BaseBucks did just enough. This time, Ohio State drew first blood on a Kaczmar solo shot to leadoff the B4. Rutgers took the lead with 2 in the T6, but that did not last long as the Buckeyes immediately tied it back up when Bemis came home on an RBI single by Furcht in the B6. The 2-2 tie stood until the B8 when Harvey sent Bemis home again, this time on an RBI double. Rutgers threatened to tie, or potentially take the lead, in the T9 when the Scarlet Knights had a mini-2-ou rally and got runners on the corners, however pitcher Pierce Herrenbruck and the defense held on for the 3-2 survival win, giving the Buckeye pitching crew their second complete game in less than a week, and giving Herrenbruck his 7th win of the season. 

Still on life support, Ohio State entered Day 3 with a rematch against their biggest rivals, but could not get it done. Despite a masterclass 7.2 innings from starting pitcher Gavin Kuzniewski, the offense could not get anything going as the only 2 hits for TTUN (by one player) brought home runs with 2 in the T3 and 1 in the T8 as TTUN avenged the regular season sweep to advance to the quarterfinals and end the Buckeyes' season. Though it was an excellent pitching performance, the offensive lulls gave Kuzniewski the loss, dropping him to 6-3 to finish the season.

The 1-2 tournament appearance drops Ohio State down to 30-25 (18-12).

Up Next, Ohio State enters the off season after a much improved season, but the tournament run shows that there is still a lot to work on. The offense needs to show it can stay consistent, and the defense has to limit the errors committed; 7 errors in a 3 day span is not going to get the job done in postseason play. Now, it is not all doom and gloom. The season was still a huge leap forward for the program. Getting to the tournament was just a taste of what can be accomplished. Again, much to work on, but overall, nothing to be ashamed of for the season as a whole. Keep Haire on staff, retain key players, and bring in some more pitching depth and hitting power, and next season could be special.