Last week, Ohio State football's spring practices started, and the men's basketball team made an improbable run at the Big Ten Tournament. It was also a seven-day stretch full of action from the school's Olympic sports.
In this edition of Around the Oval, Eleven Warriors’ one-stop shop for coverage of Ohio State's non-revenue sports, we offer rundowns for baseball, wrestling, women's volleyball and men's golf.
Over the weekend, we also covered softball pitcher Emily Ruck's perfect game, women's hockey's win over Quinnipiac to make its third consecutive Frozen Four, track and field star Adelaide Aquilla's fourth national title in the shot put and women's basketball earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Baseball
After defeating Cal State-Bakersfield on Saturday, 17-5, Ohio State baseball scored 28 runs on Sunday in a double-header conclusion of a three-game series to sweep the Roadrunners over the weekend, winning the first game 19-6 and the second 9-5.
FINAL (Game 2) | The Buckeyes sweep their three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield, scoring 45 runs on 43 hits to improve to 8-6 on the season and extend their win streak to 4 games #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/06f1VHWTPx
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) March 13, 2023
Combine the team's sweep of CSB with a win over Oklahoma at the Frisco Classic, and the Buckeyes have marked four consecutive victories on their schedule. Even more, a loss to California is the only defeat preventing that win streak from being longer, as Ohio State has won six of seven games dating back to an 8-2 win over Gonzaga on Feb. 26.
Junior pitcher Isaiah Coupet has been crucial to Ohio State's success this season. The southpaw has a 2-1 record with a 0.50 ERA in four appearances and 18 innings pitched for the Buckeyes. He has also collected a team-best 27 strikeouts, and opponents have hit only .127 when the Flossmoor, Illinois, native is on the bump.
At the plate, graduate infielder Marcus Ernst and junior centerfielder Kade Kern have been a tremendous source of offense at the top of the order. Through 14 games, Ernst has a .339 average with 20 hits, including four doubles, two triples, four home runs and nine RBIs, while Kern has a .283 average with 15 hits, including one double, two home runs and 11 RBIs.
Ohio State has also seen consistent contributions from sophomore infielder and designated hitter Tyler Pettorini, senior third basemen Nick Erwin and graduate transfer catcher Cole Andrews with the bat in their hands, as the Buckeyes have averaged double-digit runs in each contest the trio has appeared in the starting lineup.
This week, Ohio State was scheduled to face Marshall, the new home of former Buckeyes head coach Greg Beals, on Tuesday and Wednesday on the road in Huntington, West Virginia. However, inclement weather has canceled at least the first matchup, leaving only the second matchup to be played against the Herd.
ICYMI: Tomorrow's game at Marshall has been canceled. We are still slated to take on The Herd on Wednesday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m.!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Qt470FmhFZ
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) March 13, 2023
Following the one-off contest with Marshall, Ohio State will host Dayton for Opening Day at Bill Davis Stadium on Friday. The Buckeyes and Flyers will play a three-game series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then Ohio State will host Wright State on March 21 and Toledo on March 22.
Wrestling
Nine Ohio State wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships and received their first-round opponents last week. Individual Big Ten title winner Sammy Sasso is the top-ranked Buckeye with the No. 2 seed at 149 pounds.
the peoples champ #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/yK1v1pJiMk
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 6, 2023
Overall, Ohio State qualified wrestlers in seven of 10 weight classes based on their performances at the Big Ten Championships. Head coach Tom Ryan’s squad added two more qualifiers when Paddy Gallagher (157 pounds) and 2022 All-American Gavin Hoffman (197) earned at-large bids.
' . #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Dv1WTxa5yS
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 9, 2023
The Buckeyes' only weight without representation was 125 pounds. However, that's only because senior Malik Heinselman – a shoo-in to compete in the tournament – suffered a season-ending injury late in the year that forced him to miss the postseason competition.
Here is Ohio State's complete list of qualifiers and their first-round matchups:
- 133: No. 14 Jesse Mendez (14-6) vs. No. 19 Jason Shaner (Oregon State/20-10)
- 141: No. 17 Dylan D'Emilio (16-12) vs. No. 16 Josh Koderhandt (Navy/29-10)
- 149: No. 2 Sammy Sasso (25-3) vs. No. 31 Dylan Martinez (Air Force/18-11)
- 157: No. 28 Paddy Gallagher (11-9) vs. No. 5 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh/16-0)
- 165: No. 10 Carson Kharchla (13-5) vs. No. 23 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech/14-9)
- 174: No. 6 Ethan Smith (19-7) vs. No. 27 Tyler Eischens (Stanford/19-8)
- 184: No. 6 Kaleb Romero (21-5) vs. No. 27 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell/19-8)
- 197: No. 26 Gavin Hoffman (16-8) vs. No. 7 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State/23-2)
- HWT: No. 16 Tate Orndorff (15-8) vs. No. 17 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell/26-3)
The NCAA Championships take place this week at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with matches set to begin early Thursday morning and conclude Saturday night.
Women's Volleyball
Ohio State women’s volleyball and head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg announced Thursday that United States Olympian Michelle Bartsch-Hackley will join the Buckeyes’ coaching staff as the volunteer assistant.
“I am thrilled to add Michelle Bartsch-Hackley to our staff,” Oldenburg said in an official statement. “Her knowledge of the game, experience and success at the highest level will have an immediate impact on our program.”
Bartsch-Hackley was a standout for the Illinois women's volleyball team from 2008-11. She later played for Team USA from 2015-21, winning several Nations League awards in the progress, including Best Outside Hitter and Most Valuable Player in both the 2018 and 2021 seasons. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bartsch-Hackley won a gold medal with the United States and was named co-Best Outside Hitter for the Summer Games along with teammate Jordan Larson.
“I’m really excited to be joining the coaching staff and to be a part of a program that I have grown to love from afar,” Bartsch-Hackley said of her future role with the Buckeyes. “I’m grateful for this opportunity and want to thank everyone who has welcomed me to Ohio State.”
Ohio State has found tremendous success under Oldenburg, including multiple Sweet 16 appearances and a trip to the Elite Eight – the program's first since 2004 – since she took over the program following the 2019 season. The addition of Bartsch-Hackley to the staff should keep the program trending in that direction in 2023.
Men's Golf
Ohio State men's golf will continue its spring break trip this week as it prepares to play in The Johnnie-O at Sea Island on Monday and Tuesday in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
The Buckeyes will compete against squads from Michigan State, Rutgers, Penn State, Minnesota, Iowa and Notre Dame, among others, at the Sea Island Golf Club over the next two days. Ohio State's lineup includes Adam Wallin, JonErik Alford, Neal Shipley, Jackson Chandler, Jacob Tarkeny and All-American and 2022 U.S. Open qualifier Maxwell Moldovan.
Head coach Jay Moseley's team has been contenders in almost every tournament they've played in this season. They have one tournament team title from the Cal Poly Collegiate at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in November and finished runner-up at the Puerto Rico Classic at Grand Reserve Golf Club in February.
Ohio State's most recent performance came at the Colleton River Collegiate, a tournament in which the Buckeyes took fourth place last season. This year, Wallin posted a top-10 finish as an individual and the team claimed eighth place in a highly-competitive field. The team will look to carry that positive momentum into this week's competition in Georgia.
Other News and Notes
- No. 4 Ohio State women’s tennis lost a close one at UCLA, 4-3, on Sunday in Los Angeles. After dropping the doubles point, the Buckeyes won three of the first four completed singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. The match came down to a third set on courts one and four, with the Bruins taking both to claim the team win. Ohio State is now 8-5 on the year.
- No. 15 Ohio State men's volleyball played No. 8 Brigham Young (12-6) at the Smith Center in Provo, Utah, on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars swept the series with the Buckeyes, which dropped the scarlet and gray to 11-8 overall through the midway point of the season.
- No. 10 Ohio State men’s lacrosse lost 16-3 to No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Buckeyes are now 3-3 on the year, with all three losses coming against the top three teams in the nation: No. 1 Virginia, No. 3 Cornell and No. 2 Notre Dame.
