Buckeyes Open 2026 Season Versus Saint Louis at Blue Wahoos Stadium​

2/11/2026 8:00:00 PM | Baseball

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team opens the 2026 season this weekend, hosting Saint Louis for a three-game series at the Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, Fla. Friday, Feb. 13- Sunday, Feb. 15. All three games will stream live on B1G+.

Game 1
Friday, Feb. 13 | 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET
Live Stats | Watch
Probable Starters:
Ohio State – RHP Gavin Kuzniewski
Saint Louis – RHP Ben Cherico

Game 2
Saturday, Feb. 14 | 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET
Live Stats | Watch
Probable Starters:
Ohio State – RHP Pierce Herrenbruck
Saint Louis – RHP Noah Andrunas

Game 3
Sunday, Feb. 15 | 11 a.m. CT/Noon ET
Live Stats | Watch
Probable Starters:
Ohio State – RHP Jude Fisher
Saint Louis - TBD

Ohio State Quick Hitters

• The Buckeyes return 15 players from the 2025 squad, and welcome 22 newcomers.
• Notably returning to Ohio State is infielder Henry Kaczmar. Kaczmar played for the Buckeyes from 2023-24, being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2024, before transferring to South Carolina for the 2025 season. Kaczmar is back home with the Buckeyes, and reunited on the diamond with his cousin, catcher Mason Eckelman. In his two previous seasons with the Buckeyes, Kaczmar batted .310 with 139 hits, 14 home runs, 91 RBIs and 82 runs scored.
• Lee Ellis is the top returning hitter for the Buckeyes. He batted .296 in 2025 with 42 hits, seven home runs, 34 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He was 7-for-8 in stolen bases.
• Eckelman batted .281 and recorded 50 hits, nine doubles, five home runs, 29 RBIs and 30 runs scored.
• On the mound, sophomore Gavin Kuzniewski picked up three wins in 2025. He fanned 43 in 56 innings pitched and finished the season with a 6.75 ERA.
• Douglas Bauer led the Buckeye pitching staff in appearances in 2025 with 21. He compiled a 3-1 record and struck out 30 in 35 innings tossed.

Newcomers to Watch

• Two-way player Miles Vandenheuvel joins the Buckeyes after two seasons at Eastern Arizona College. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native batted .297 with 89 hits, 19 doubles, four triples and six home runs. On the mound, he struck out 16 in 15.2 innings pitched. Vandenheuvel was ranked the No. 2 junior college (JUCO) two-way player.
• After being sidelined with an injury in 2025, first baseman Dane Harvey looks to make his mark with the Buckeyes in 2026. Harvey comes to Columbus from Cowley Community College. During his freshman season in 2024, he batted an impressive .352 with 13 home runs and 58 RBIs.
• On the mound, Pierce Herrenbruck is expected to be a major contributor for the Buckeyes, and will be in the opening weekend rotation. Herrenbruck joins the Buckeyes from Rend Lake College, where he had a 2.4 ERA over 68 innings pitched.
• Right-hander Caden Marcum was drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Marcum decided to pursue the college route, and he began his career at Blinn College, where he won the NJCAA National Championship. Marcum spent the 2025 season at Cloud County Community College; he went 6-2 on the mound and struck out 85 in 60.1 innings pitched.
• Freshman Jude Fisher is an anticipated weekend starter on the mound for the Buckeyes and will toss Sunday's game on opening weekend. He spent 2025 at the Pro5 Baseball Academy and previously was a three-year letterwinner at Strongsville High School. He was named a Second Team Preseason Underclass All-American in 2024 and was selected as a 2025 Preseason All-American.

Preseason Honors

• Mason Eckelman, Lee Ellis and Gavin Kuzniewski were named Big Ten Players to Watch.
• Eckelman was named to Perfect Game's Preseason All-Big Ten team.
• Henry Kaczmar landed at No. 15 on Perfect Game's top 100 collegiate seniors list.
• Jude Fisher was named an Impact Freshman by D1Baseball.

Buckeye Prospects

• Lee Ellis, Mason Eckelman and Henry Kaczmar were named as three of the Big Ten's top prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft by D1Baseball
• Ellis came in at No. 17, Eckelman was No. 28 and Kaczmar was No. 48.

Up Next

• The Buckeyes head to Memphis, Tenn., for the Grind City Classic Feb. 20-22. Ohio State will play two games against Memphis and two games against Louisiana Tech.

Buckeyes Back on the Road for Bevo Classic This Weekend​

2/11/2026 3:10:00 PM | Softball

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Ohio State will face defending national champion Texas twice
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a split in Boca Raton, the Ohio State softball team (2-2) will travel to Austin, Texas this weekend looking to extend their two-game winning streak. The Buckeyes will face Northern Illinois, No. 2 Texas (4-1), Abeline Christian (0-5) and Syracuse (3-2) at the Bevo Classic, which is hosted by the University of Texas.

Coverage Plans
Ohio State's games vs. Texas (Friday, 6 p.m. ET and Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET) will be broadcast live on SEC Network+. Coverage of the other three games will come via live stats, which are available on the schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
In-game updates will also be available on the team's official X account @OhioStateSB.

Basics on the Buckeyes: By the Numbers

• The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a team batting average of .337, a mark that is fifth best among Big Ten teams.
• The team slugging percentage of .653 ranks even higher at third in the conference.
• Just like last year, that slugging translated into home runs, with Ohio State already sending seven out of the yard this season. Taylor Cruse and Hadley Parisien lead the way in that category with two apiece.

The Basics
Ohio State vs. Northern Illinois | Friday, Feb. 13 | 1 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats
Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | Friday, Feb. 13 | 6 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Ohio State vs. Abilene Christian | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 10:30 a.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats
Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 3:30 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Ohio State vs. Syracuse | Sunday, Feb. 15 | 10:30 a.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats

Next-Level Newcomers
While the Buckeyes tout a strong returning core, the newcomers carried their weight to open the 2026 season:

• Freshman Izzy Neal currently holds the highest batting average on the team, swinging .625 and slugging .750. Neal appeared in all four games in Boca Raton, starting in three.
• Abbie Wilhelm, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, was a major asset to the Buckeye offense, starting in all four games and tying Hadley Parisien for most at-bats. Wilhelm stayed on base, batting .462 with six hits and a walk. Wilhelm also launched a home run against Florida Atlantic in only her third plate appearance as a Buckeye.
• Freshman pitcher Jenna Molk etched herself into the Ohio State record books, tossing a no-hitter in an 11-0 win over Army, becoming only the third freshman in the last 12 years to do so. Molk leads the Ohio State pitching stable in both ERA (3.36) and strikeouts (seven). Molk's no-no became only the 24th in program history and the second against Army.
• Freshman Sara Tarr also got in on the action, starting in all four games. Tarr dropped four hits, one of which being a grand slam against Army for her first collegiate home run. She finished the weekend batting .400.

On the Opponents

• Northern Illinois will play its first game of the 2026 season just prior to their matchup with Ohio State in a 10:30 a.m. ET bout with Abilene Chrisitian. NIU went 21-30 in the 2025 season. Four Huskies were named to the All-Mac team in 2025, with three of those honorees returning in 2026. The Buckeyes are 6-0 all-time against NIU. This will be the first game against the two teams since February 11, 2022.
• No. 2 Texas hosts the Bevo Classic with a record of 4-1; their lone loss came last weekend against No. 9 Nebraska. Texas put up 46 runs over its first five games, while allowing 24. The defending national champions have three players batting over .500, with the team hitting a cumulative .361. Five different players went yard in week one, good for a team total of 11 home runs. The Buckeyes are 1-3 in competition with Texas, falling in a close 4-2 loss last year in front of a sold-out crowd at Buckeye Field.
• Abilene Christian is currently 0-5 and will play a double header on Feb. 11 before heading to the Bevo Classic. The Wildcats will face Texas, Northern Illinois, and Syracuse before meeting Ohio State. The offense is led by Erianna Garcia and her .429 batting average, with Ella Beeman (ERA: .332) at the helm of the Wildcat pitching stable. Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Ohio State and Abilene Chrisitian.
• Syracuse travels to Austin with a record of 3-2, coming off three straight wins. The Orange are batting .288 as a team, holding competition to an average of .255. Four Syracuse sluggers hold an average above .300, by Madison Knight's mark of .556. Knight likewise leads the Orange pitching corps in strikeouts, with 11, though Jackie Pengel holds the leading ERA of 2.52. Ohio State is 0-2 against Syracuse, with the upcoming match being the first in 10 years. The last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 21, 2016, ended in a 3-2 Ohio State loss

Ladies are in Austin, TX this weekend for 5 games at the BEVO Classic

Friday
vs. Northern Ill at 1pm
vs. #2 Texas at 6pm

Saturday
vs. Abilene Christian at 1030am
vs. #2 Texas at 330pm

Sunday
vs. Syracuse at 1030am

Opening Day!!!

good luck to the Tigers!

DZ83CK said:

They can't worry about what other teams do, but otherwise I agree. A 2-3 minimum in these next 5 games is critical. If you look at ESPN analytics, the Wisconsin home game is the only one OSU is expected to win, but even that one is dicey because Wisconsin has already won on the road at UM and Illinois, and of course OSU was unable to stop their offense in the first matchup. The Virginia game is the second-most likely according to ESPN, but that one could be tougher than meets the eye as well because OSU tends to be offense-heavy and defense-poor, and a matchup against a team like UVA who's defense-oriented and somewhat offensively challenged doesn't tend to work. I do think that they could have a chance in a couple of the other games but it's not looking good if I'm being perfectly honest.

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Iowa just lost to Maryland so I think that game is winnable even though it's on the road.

This team is just so up and down though, they gotta figure out a way to put more complete games together down the stretch. You cant have these long stretches of sloppy play against these types of teams.

bigdog3300 said:

Bummer that Cannon won't be in the lineup,

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Agreed, but we've known for a couple weeks. Birden instead of Kharch is a surprise though...

OPENING DAY!!!!!!

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Tanner said:

They might as well try to sign Castellanos. He isn't good but he also wouldn't be their worst outfielder

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And the memes

I will help fund a trip for somebody wearing it to SEC media days, though

To add a quick scouting report on the Buckeyes opening round match…
SMU is playing on their home courts.
Their number one player is pro level and #1 ranked singles player in the ncaa.
Last year Bucks were upset in first round by underdog UCF.
other than those concerns, Bucks should roll over SMU and advance to the round of 8.

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buckeyemania11 said:

With the 5 game stretch starting Saturday I think they are gonna need a lot of help in terms of the other bubble teams losing, unless they can manage a couple of upsets. They probably need to go no worse than 2-3 in these 5 to keep the hope alive without a deep B1G tournament run.

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They can't worry about what other teams do, but otherwise I agree. A 2-3 minimum in these next 5 games is critical. If you look at ESPN analytics, the Wisconsin home game is the only one OSU is expected to win, but even that one is dicey because Wisconsin has already won on the road at UM and Illinois, and of course OSU was unable to stop their offense in the first matchup. The Virginia game is the second-most likely according to ESPN, but that one could be tougher than meets the eye as well because OSU tends to be offense-heavy and defense-poor, and a matchup against a team like UVA who's defense-oriented and somewhat offensively challenged doesn't tend to work. I do think that they could have a chance in a couple of the other games but it's not looking good if I'm being perfectly honest.

They might as well try to sign Castellanos. He isn't good but he also wouldn't be their worst outfielder