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LGHL Ohio State baseball battles Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament

Ohio State baseball battles Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament
Brett Ludwiczak
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


COLLEGE BASEBALL: MAY 19 Michigan at Ohio State

Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

After beating Nebraska 15-2 on Tuesday, next up for the Buckeyes are the Indiana Hoosiers.

After Tuesday night’s 15-2 win over Nebraska in seven innings in Omaha, Ohio State will now face Indiana this afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the winner of the Purdue/Nebraska game on Saturday morning, while the loser will play the loser of that game tomorrow in the elimination bracket.

Today’s game will be the first meeting of the season between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers.

This marks the 31st appearance in the Big Ten Tournament for Ohio State, with the Buckeyes winning the tournament 10 times, which ties Michigan and Minnesota for most in conference history. The last time Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament was back in 2019, which was also the last time they made the conference tournament prior to this season.

When the Buckeyes won the 2019 tournament, they were also the No. 7 seed, which made them the lowest-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament.

Despite taking on a Nebraska team that was the No. 2 seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday night, Ohio State had little trouble with the Cornhuskers. Joseph Mershon opened up the scoring for the Buckeyes in the second inning with a solo home run. Ohio State would continue to put runs on the board after Mershon’s blast, building an 11-0 lead by the middle of the fourth inning.

Mershon finished with a team-high four RBIs and Trey Lipsey notched three hits. Every Ohio State starter recorded at least one hit on Tuesday night.

Along with a potent offensive attack, the Buckeyes were able to get a strong start from pitcher Landon Beidelschies. The sophomore allowed just one run and two hits over five innings, striking out eight batters on the way to his sixth victory of the season.

Beidelschies has been a workhorse for Ohio State this year, starting 15 games and tossing 84.2 innings. The 91 strikeouts by Beidelschies is the most among Buckeye pitchers this season.


Indiana at a glance


Indiana enters Wednesday’s game against Ohio State as the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are coming off an 8-6 win over Purdue on Tuesday.

The Boilermakers led 1-0 in the fourth inning before Indiana responded with three runs in the fifth, followed by five runs in the sixth inning. At the center of the offensive explosion for the Hoosiers during those two innings was Jasen Oliver, who hit a three-run home run in the fifth, and an RBI double in the sixth inning.

Oliver became the first Indiana freshman since Logan Sowers in 2015 with four RBIs in a Big Ten Tournament game.

Unlike Ohio State, who got a strong start from Landon Beidelschies on Tuesday, Indiana had to use a number of pitchers to secure the win over Purdue. Ty Bothwell started for the Hoosiers, but was only able to pitch three innings as he was still recovering from an illness he has been dealing with over the past week.

Drew Buhr took the ball next for Indiana, pitching four innings before three other Hoosiers finished out the final two innings. Buhr was credited with the win, pushing his record to 2-2 on the season.


Taking the mound today


The pitching matchup should be a fun one, as Ohio State will start Gavin DeVooght, and Indiana will counter with Connor Foley. DeVooght was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after posting a 2-3 record with a 4.22 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 42.2 innings this year. DeVooght’s last start came on May 12 against Northwestern, where he tied a season-high with six strikeouts over five innings

Starting for Indiana will be sophomore Connor Foley, who gotten better as the season has gone on. Over his last two starts, Foley allowed just three combined hits and no runs over nine innings. Foley has done a great job at making opposing hitters miss this year, striking out 75 batters over 56.2 innings. In two starts this year, Foley has struck out 10 batters in a game.


Batters to watch in today’s game


Along with trying to solve Foley today, there are a number of Indiana hitters that will pose a serious threat to DeVooght and the Buckeyes. Outfielder Devin Taylor is Indiana’s biggest power threat, entering the game with a .359 average, 17 home runs, and 47 RBIs.

Other Hoosiers who have amassed at least 100 total bases this year are Tyler Cerny and Carter Mathison. Cerny is hitting .315 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs, and 57 runs batted in, while Mathison has 13 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Ohio State will counter with some notable power threats. Henry Kaczmar was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection this season, posting a .321 average with 69 hits and 34 RBIs. Tyler Pettorini is hitting .318 with nine homers and 49 runs batted in, while Mitchell Okuley is batting .317 with 16 doubles and 43 RBIs.

Mershon and Nick Giamarusti have caused havoc on the bases for opponents this season, with the speedy duo tying for the team lead with 15 stolen bases so far this year.

Wednesday’s game will start at 3:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

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LGHL Ohio State dishes out three new offers, 2025 QB commit shoots up recruiting boards

Ohio State dishes out three new offers, 2025 QB commit shoots up recruiting boards
Caleb Houser
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes had a busy Wednesday, offering three new players in the future cycles.

Another week just means more chances for Ohio State to continue their recruiting pursuits. With more offers being dished out on Wednesday, the Buckeyes are still all over the country making their presence known and still evaluating players across several cycles.

Making headway in North Carolina on Wednesday, the Buckeyes were in to see defensive back prospect, Samari Matthews.

A 6-foot, 180 pound cornerback, Matthews is the No. 83 player nationally and the sixth best cornerback in the 2026 class per the 247Sports Composite. The latest school to join the mix, the DB does have over 30 offers to his name already, and from many of the top programs in college football such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, USC, and a host of others.

No secret as to why the Buckeyes are now getting involved, with how well they have done in both the 2024 and 2025 classes with cornerback recruiting, it’s become a trend for Tim Walton to land the guys he’s after, and 2026 shouldn’t be any different.

With this offer now extended, look for Walton and Ohio State to start really building the relationship and working to get him to Columbus to see all that the Buckeyes have to offer.

Humble and blessed to have received an offer from @OhioStateFB. Thank you @MattGuerrieri @OGWalt_ @ryandaytime really appreciate it. @HoughFB @SC_DBGROUP @DeShawnBaker6 @ChadSimmons_ @adamgorney @RivalsFriedman @TomLoy247 @SWiltfong_ @NPCoachJeff @AnnaH247 @TomLuginbill pic.twitter.com/uwAppbVJWN

— Samari “Smoke” Matthews (@samari_matthews) May 22, 2024

Sticking right with the class of 2026 and the cornerback position, Ohio State wasn’t just making stops in North Carolina. Headed south one state away, the Buckeyes also made another offer to South Carolina native, J’Zavien Currence.

A 6-foot-3, 210 pound athlete, Currence is not your typical cornerback with his size and frame. He already has an impressive stature, and makes sense that he’s listed as a safety on his 247Sports profile. The No. 68 player nationally, Currence is the seventh best safety in the class and the top player in South Carolina per the 247Sports Composite.

Another dynamic offer list, over 30 schools have thrown their name into the fold, and Ohio State being the latest may be later than most, but certainly doesn’t hurt their chances as it’s been seen how well they’ve been doing on the defensive back side of things. Currence becomes another name to keep an eye on as Ohio State looks to lock down the rest of their 2025 haul and focus the majority of their attention on the next cycle on deck.


Moving away from the defensive side of the ball, Ohio State was active on the recruiting front with the offense as well as they sent out an offer to 2027 running back, Brayden Tyson. It’s not often you see the Buckeyes offering players two years down the pipeline, but clearly the staff and position coach Carlos Locklyn felt waiting wasn’t necessary.

A 6-foot, 215 pound athlete, Tyson is not yet ranked via 247Sports, but early offers from the likes of Florida State, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee, and plenty of others show this is one target that will see a high ranking when the time comes. Playing in Georgia as well, odds are the caliber of talent he is facing early in his high school career is impressive enough to see why the list of schools just mentioned is already after his services.

Locklyn has plenty of work to do in this current 2025 class while he tries to land likely two and maybe even three at the position, but when relationships are everything in recruiting, it’s never a bad thing to early players that have a while before they decide anything final. Doing well in Georgia over the last several years doesn’t hurt either, and now there’s another name to look at when it comes to recruiting the Peach State and the unlimited talent they seem to produce each year.


Ohio State has offered Brookwood (Ga.) 2027 running back Brayden Tyson who running backs coach Carlos Locklyn last August while at Oregon.

Tyson rushed for 642 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman at the 7A level in Georgia.https://t.co/EJRgWXplUE https://t.co/2bK9ioNkZ9

— Mick Walker (@mickdwalker) May 22, 2024

Quick Hits

  • Rankings aren’t everything to this Ohio State staff, but it does tell a story for how a given target is being looked at. The Buckeyes tend to land some of the top-ranked guys at every position regardless of cycle and that’s no different in 2025.

Looking specifically at the quarterback spot, the Buckeyes didn’t have to go far with who they were trying to bring in as Ohio had not only one, but two big-time players and Tavien St. Clair is proving to be the right choice over and over.

Now the No. 2 player nationally per 247Sports, St. Clair has really shot up the ranks, and this latest update has the Buckeyes boasting once again another top player at the position.

St. Clair will continue to help this class overall not just with his commitment, but being a mainstay for guys wanting to follow a top signal caller in the 2025 cycle. It’s no surprise to see Ohio State continuing their run of elite quarterback recruiting under Ryan Day.


CLASS OF 2025 5-STARS

1⃣ Bryce Underwood, QB (LSU commit)
2⃣ Tavien St. Clair, QB (Ohio State commit)
3⃣ David Sanders Jr., OT
4⃣ Devin Sanchez, CB (Ohio State commit)
5⃣ Dakorien Moore, WR

FULL RANKINGS https://t.co/FSTsC35EJV pic.twitter.com/LcCwiMoYs1

— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 22, 2024

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