All your latest Ohio State spring sports news (plus some postseason highlights)
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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@OhioStateTFXC Twitter
Stay up-to-date on the tennis, track & field, and golf postseasons, plus more Buckeye sports news from around campus.
Whether you’re looking to get on the tennis train, take a few laps around the track, or root, root, root for the Buckeyes’ baseball and softball teams, here at LGHL, we’re keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening with
all your Buckeye sports teams.
Tennis
The No. 1 overall
Ohio State men’s tennis team keeps on rolling, defeating Mississippi State, 4-1, over the weekend—their final home match of the season—to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals. It is the 18th consecutive year the Buckeyes will head to the final site.
The doubles point was an exciting one, with Mississippi State taking the first match but the Buckeyes evening the score with a Jack Anthrop/Cannon Kingsley victory. The clinching match was a showdown between No. 3 Robert Cash and JJ Tracy and No. 11 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, with Cash and Tracy bringing home the doubles point for the Buckeyes. It was Tracy’s 100th-career doubles win.
Singles victories from Anthrop, Cash, and Justin Boulais sealed the win for the Buckeyes.
@OhioStateMTEN Twitter
Robert Cash competes in his singles match, which he went on to win 6-3, 6-2 to earn a point for the Buckeyes.
Up next, the team heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face Columbia in the quarterfinal this Thursday, with times to be announced.
Though the women’s tennis season has concluded team play, Irina Cantos Siemers, Luciana Perry, and Sydni Ratliff are in preparation for the NCAA Championships, which will take place between May 20-26 in Stillwater.
Cantos Siemers, currently ranked No. 17, and Perry, currently ranked No. 50, will compete in the Singles Championship. Perry will then be joined by Ratlif in the Doubles Championship.
Baseball
After Tuesday’s scheduled game against Eastern Michigan was canceled, the OSU baseball team (26-23, 10-11) closed out non-conference play with a win over Youngstown State before taking two of three at home against Northwestern this weekend.
Against Youngstown State (11-37), the Buckeyes jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Henry Kaczmar scored on a YSU throwing error and Hunter Rosson scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, before Youngstown State quickly took the lead right back, 3-2, in the top of the second.
The Buckeyes wouldn’t trail again in the victory over the Penguins. In the second, Isaac Cadena sent Josh Stevenson and Mason Eckelman home with a double before scoring himself on a Penguin error.
In the third, Joseph Mershon scored on an RBI groundout from Eckelman before Cadena drove in two more runs with a single, making it 8-3, Scarlet and Gray.
A Stevenson double sent Mitchell Okuley home in the fourth, and sacrifice flies from Rosson and Mershon in the fifth made it 11-3, Buckeyes. Kaczmar and pinch hitter Hank Thomas each added an RBI single in the sixth to round out the Buckeyes’ scoring plays.
@OhioStateBASE Twitter
It was all Penguins offensively for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t enough to give them the edge, and the Buckeyes took it, 13-9. Kaczmar led in the win with three hits, while Cadena drove in a career-high four runs. Cadena and Rosson each also had a career-high two stolen bases in the game.
Hunter Shaw earned the win for the Buckeyes, striking out four in 3.0 innings pitched.
The
Northwestern Wildcats (16-32, 3-18) then rolled into Columbus on Friday for the first game of a three-game series. The Buckeyes took the first two to clinch the series before dropping Sunday’s Senior Day game to close out their home schedule.
The Buckeyes never trailed on Friday, jumping out to a 1-0 lead after Trey Lipsey sent Pettorini home on a fielder’s choice in the second. The Wildcats didn’t get on the board until the top of the sixth when they tied it with an RBI single to make it one-all.
OSU had an answer though, taking the lead for good after a four-run seventh. Matthew Graveline hit a triple to send two runners home before Stevenson and Cadena each added another RBI.
Lipsey then added some insurance runs with a two-RBI double in the eighth before the Wildcats were retired in order in the ninth to secure a 7-2 win for the Buckeyes.
Pettorini and Okuley each had a pair of hits, while Lipsey led with three RBIs. Landon Beidelschies pitched a career-high 7.0 innings to earn the win, striking out five and giving up one run on seven hits.
On Saturday, the Buckeye bats were hot from the get-go, when Kaczmar sent one sailing out of the park in the first to open scoring, 1-0. The Buckeyes added three more runs, all with two outs before the inning was over. Then in the second, Cadena went yard, a three-run homer that made the score 7-0, OSU.
In the third, it was Ryan Miller’s turn to send one out, a solo home run that gave the Buckeyes an 8-0 lead. Miller did it again in the fourth, this time sending three runs in with his second home run of the day. Northwestern didn’t get on board until the fifth, with a three-run homer.
BOTTOM 4 |
@Miller_Ryan5 DOES IT AGAIN Miller's three-run shot, his second homer of the day, extends the Ohio State lead, 11-0!
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/yu14Cx8t6V
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE)
May 11, 2024
But there was too much ground to make up. Each team would add three more runs before the game was up, bringing the final score to 14-6.
Miller led with three hits (including those two home runs) and four RBIs. Colin Purcell pitched 6.0 innings to earn the win, striking out one and giving up five runs on five hits.
The Wildcats found their footing on Sunday, though, coming back to win, 3-1, on OSU’s Senior Day.
.
@OhioStateBASE had their mothers throw out the first pitch before today’s game!
#B1GBaseball x
#MothersDay pic.twitter.com/vCpeSzfa9Q
— Big Ten Baseball (@B1Gbaseball)
May 12, 2024
The Buckeyes’ lone run came in the second, an RBI single from Stevenson to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 advantage. From there, it was all Northwestern, who took a 2-1 lead in the third and added a solo home run in the fourth.
Graveline led for the Buckeyes with three hits. Gavin DeVooght pitched 5.0 innings in the loss, though he tied his career-high of six strikeouts. He allowed three runs on six hits.
Up next for the Buckeyes, they’ll head to
Rutgers to close out their regular season in a three-game series, May 16-18.
Softball
Senior pitcher Allison Smith pitched for her life last Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Buckeye softball team’s (31-20) season alive. Ohio State fell, 5-1, to Wisconsin (20-30) in the 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament.
The No. 6-seed Buckeyes were favored in the matchup, with Wisconsin holding a No. 11-seed and the Buckeyes heating up heading into tournament play, having won 11 of their previous 13 games.
None of that mattered last week, though, as is often the nature of tournament play in any sport, as it was the Badgers who advanced to the quarterfinal to face Rutgers.
Smith, who struck out a remarkable 10 batters (just one strikeout shy of her season high), allowed only three hits in the outing.
An inning ending strikeout? Yes, please.
OSU 1, WISC 1 | Watch: BTN |
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/YMWUIMfzta
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioStateSB)
May 9, 2024
They were costly runs, however—two solo home runs, and a three-run double, and the Buckeye offense couldn’t seem to get going enough to overcome. OSU’s lone run came on a bases-loaded walk.
The Buckeyes tallied four hits, one apiece from Tegan Cortelletti, Jasmyn Burns, McKenzie Bump, and Kirsten Eppele.
Ohio State did not receive an at-large bid for the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. On the heels of this weekend, Ohio State announced Monday it would be replacing head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly. Kovach Schoenly has been the head coach for 12 seasons, with a record of 367-226-1, and had one year remaining on her current contract. The athletic department has not yet announced a replacement.
Still, despite the disappointing end to their season, there were many triumphs to celebrate, including five players who earned Big Ten Conference postseason recognition. Wednesday morning, Kami Kortokrax was named first-team All-Big Ten, while Smith and Taylor Heckman were named to the second team. Burns made the All-Freshman team, and Eppele was named the Sportsmanship Honoree.
Golf
The women’s golf team concluded their season with a 54-hole team score of 875 (+11) at the NCAA Bryan Regional last week, good for a sixth-place finish. The fifth-place team,
Texas A&M, finished just five strokes ahead of the Buckeyes to make the cut for the final (only the five lowest-scoring teams advance).
Individually, Faith Choi finished the highest of all Buckeyes, tied for ninth place with a three-day score of one-under-par (215) after shooting under par in two of the three rounds and shooting birdies on eight holes.
Kary Hollenbaugh tied for 13th place after leading the team in birdies with 11. Her 54-hole total score was 218 (+2).
@OhioStateWGOLF Twitter
In addition to Hollenbaugh and Choi, the Buckeye lineup included Jillian Bourdage, Caley McGinty, Emily Hummer, and Kallie Vongsaga, who entered on Tuesday as a sub for Hummer and shot a remarkable 69 (-3) in the final round.
The men’s golf team, for their part, is in Louisiana, where, at the time of publication, they’ve wrapped Day One at the Baton Rouge Regional. They are currently tied with Houston for third place, paced by Neal Shipley who is currently tied for fourth with a score of 70 (-2) after making six birdies.
Ohio State finished the first round with a team score of 289 (+1). Virginia currently leads the pack after shooting 8-under par (280) on Day 1.
The Buckeyes hold the No. 6 seed at the Baton Rouge Regional after earning an at-large berth. The lowest-scoring five teams, plus the lowest-scoring individual not on those five teams, will advance to the final in Carlsbad, California, later this month.
In addition to Shipley, the Buckeye lineup includes Adam Wallin, Tyler Sabo, Jackson Chandler, and Maxwell Moldovan.
Buckeyes in 3rd after opening round of NCAA Regional
#GoBucks #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/ctq3k6UjjH
— Ohio State Mens Golf (@OhioStateMGOLF)
May 14, 2024
The Buckeyes have six top-five finishes this season, two of which came in their last two outings. They finished runner-up at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate two weeks ago and finished fifth in the Big Ten Championships last weekend.
Track & Field
The Buckeye track & field team competed at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships over the weekend, with the women earning a third-place team finish overall with 115 points and the men finishing in 10th with 49 points.
During the first day of competition at the meet in Ann Arbor on Friday, the Buckeyes earned their first points of the weekend with Daniella Santos’ sixth-place finish (33:54.06) and Andrea Kuhn’s seventh-place finish (34:05.63) in the women’s 10000m.
In the pole vault, Morgan Fijalkowski finished in 10th place, clearing 3.97m / 13’0.25” on her first attempt.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes competed in the finals for high jump, shot put, 3000m steeplechase, and long jump.
Most notably, Hayden Tobias won the men’s shot put, throwing 20m for the first time this season to win the outdoor title after claiming the indoor title earlier this year. Adam Riedinger also had a top-10 finish, taking the ninth spot with a PR throw of 18.07m / 59’3.5”. Lacey Stringer finished fifth for the women with a best throw of 16.65m / 54’7.5”.
Other top-10 finishes on Saturday included Amaya Ugarte’s third-place finish in high jump, earned by clearing 1.79m / 5’10.5” on her final attempt, Akemi Von Scherr’s eighth-place finish in 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:41.47, and DJ Fillmore’s eighth-place finish in men’s long jump with a mark of 7.43m / 24’4.5”. Von Scherr’s steeplechase performance earned her a fifth-place ranking in program history.
On the final day of competition, the Buckeyes added to Tobias’ shot put victory with some wins in track events, along with several top-10 finishes in both track and field events.
The women’s 4x100 relay team of Fatouma Conde, Nya Bussey, Columba Effiong, and Leah Bertrand earned OSU its fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship win in the event after running a season-best time of 43.44. Their time was good enough for fifth place in OSU program history. Bertrand also ran a season-best 11.16 in 100m to defend her 2023 Big Ten title, while Conde took home the Big Ten 200m championship with a PR time of 22.91, bringing her into fifth place in program history as well.
@OhioStateTFXC Twitter
The 200m race was a smash for the Buckeyes, as they earned two top-10 finishes in addition to Conde’s win. Bertrand finished runner-up with a PR time of 22.98, while Bussey finished in seventh with her season-best 23.61.
Similarly, in addition to Bertrand’s first-place finish in the 100m, Bussey finished fourth (11.29), Conde was seventh (11.43), and Effiong ninth (11.47).
Marcus Brown finished in eighth place in both 200m and 100m for the men, with times of 20.80 and 10.57, respectively.
The men's and women’s teams both finished the 4x400 relay as the runners-up with season-best times, while Aniya Mosley finished as the runner-up in the 800m with a personal-best time of 2:04.21, the third-best in program history. Mosley also finished fourth in the 1500m with a time of 4:16.64.
Other top-10 finishes for the women included Chanler Robinson’s runner-up finish in the 400m hurdles with a PR of 57.20, fourth-best in program history, Bryannia Murphy’s third-place showing in 400m with a time of 53.14, and Daniella Santos and Andrea Kuhn’s fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the 5000m, with times of 16:16.11 and 16:16.58 respectively.
On the men’s side, Mason Louis and Antonio Hansen finished fourth and sixth in the 400m, with respective times of 46.95 and 47.31.
@OhioStateTFXC Twitter
On the field side, Faith Bender boasted the women’s only top-10 finish of the day, finishing as the runner-up in discus with a season-best throw of 59.27m / 194’5”. The men finished strong in discus, high jump and triple jump, with Shaun Miller Jr. clearing a season-best 2.17m / 7’1.5” to make him the high jump runner-up, followed by Reign Wilson in the tenth spot.
In the discus, Tanner Watson and Carlos Aviles finished fifth and sixth, with throws of 57.67m / 189’2” and 56.35m / 184’10”, respectively. Clarence Foote-Talley finished fourth in triple jump, with a season-best mark of 16.13m / 52’11”.
Up next, the Buckeyes head to the NCAA East First Round, hosted by Kentucky, from May 22 through May 25.
Rowing
The Buckeyes are now in full preparation mode for the 2024 Big Ten Championships, slated for May 19 in Wisconsin. They are currently ranked No. 14 nationwide.
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