Jami Jurich
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Ohio State spring sport storylines you should be following: Men’s tennis wins another B1G title
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
@OhioStateTFXC Twitter.
A look at Big Ten Tournament victory from No. 1 men’s tennis, a record-setting weekend for track & field, and more.
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.
Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams found themselves in a Big Ten Tournament Championship showdown with Michigan, though they walked away with different results.
After the No. 1 men’s tennis team breezed to victory in the Big Ten Quarterfinals against Penn State and took down Nebraska in the Semifinals, they walked away victorious over Michigan to claim their second-consecutive Big Ten Tournament title.
In the Quarterfinals, the Buckeyes took the doubles point in just 25 minutes, dropping only one game across three matches. Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima combined their victory with one from Andrew Lutschaunig and Justin Boulais to take the point.
Cash, Tracy, and Jack Anthrop finished their singles sets first to clinch the singles points and send the Buckeyes into the semifinals with a 4-0 win over the Nittany Lions.
In the Semifinals, OSU dropped the doubles point but dominated Nebraska in singles matchups to spring to a 4-1 victory, winning all six opening singles sets. Tracy and Cannon Kingsley had the sole doubles victory, and Boulais, Anthrop, Cash, and Alexander Bernard finished their singles sets first to send the Buckeyes into the finals.
In Sunday’s finals, the Buckeyes came out of the gate ready to take the doubles point, with Kingsley and Anthrop winning their match first, followed by a victory from Boulais and Lutschaunig to secure the point.
Anthrop then nailed down a quick singles win, followed by wins from Kingsley and Tracy to secure the title, the Buckeyes’ 17th overall.
Tracy was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Up next, the Buckeyes will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, where they will be the top seed overall. They open against Cleveland State this Friday afternoon.
The No. 12 women finished their Big Ten Tournament run as the runners-up after defeating Penn State in the Quarterfinals and Northwestern in the Semifinals before falling to Michigan on Sunday in the final round.
They won easily on Friday, taking the doubles point and three straight-set singles wins for a 4-1 victory over the Nittany Lions. The duos of Madeline Atway and Teah Chavez, as well as Irina Cantos Siemers and Luciana Perry, clinched the doubles point for the Buckeyes. Atway and Chavez did not drop a game in their match.
Perry, Chavez, and captain Cantos Siemers all won their singles matches to finish out the victory.
In the Semifinals against Northwestern, the women mirrored the men, dropping the doubles point before straight-set singles victories from Perry, Chavez, Cantos Siemers and Audrey Spencer secured their trip to the finals, making it the fourth tournament in a row where the Buckeyes and Wolverines met in the final.
The finals didn’t bring the results the women had hoped for, falling to No. 2 Michigan, 4-2, but it was still a hard-fought match. The Buckeyes dropped the doubles point but netted singles wins from Perry and Shelly Bereznyak. Both Perry and Cantos Siemers were named to the all-tournament team.
Up next, the women will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, where they will take on Toledo in the opening round this Saturday and Sunday.
The OSU baseball team (20-20, 7-8) dropped three of four this past week but ended the weekend on a high note with a victory over Michigan State at home.
Up first, the Buckeyes hit the road for a rematch with Wright State, falling 14-13, an exact reversal of the Buckeyes’ winning score the week prior, despite out-hitting the Raiders, 12-9. OSU and Wright State split the series for the season.
The Raiders held a steady lead from the fifth inning (in which they scored eight runs) all the way through the eighth. But the Buckeyes weren’t giving up, and they added two runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, 13-12. It came down to the final out—with one-on (the lead-off batter who had been walked) when the tying run scored on a Buckeye error and an RBI single gave Wright State the win.
Henry Kaczmar, Matthew Graveline, Joseph Mershon, and Josh Stevenson each had a pair of hits to lead the Buckeyes, while Hunter Rosson led the Buckeyes in RBIs with four runners brought home.
The boys then headed home to prepare for a three-game series with Michigan State, which they lost, 2-1.
The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes, 11-4, Friday night, a game in which Sparty never trailed. OSU didn’t get on the board until the bottom of the fourth, when Kaczmer scored on a groundout from Tyler Pettorini and Graveline made it home off a sacrifice fly from Mershon, cutting the Spartans’ lead to 4-2. A two-run homer from Kaczmer in the eighth was the Buckeyes’ only other scoring play of the game.
Landon Beidelschies took the loss for the Buckeyes, falling to 4-7 on the season. He struck out one and gave up six runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings. Kaczmar led the Buckeyes with two hits and two RBIs.
Saturday saw a career-best performance out of Rosson, but it still wasn’t enough to top the Spartans. The Buckeyes fell, 17-12, in a battle of the bats. Rosson drove in a career-high six runs in the loss.
OSU held a three-run lead after the third, but they wouldn’t lead again after a six-run fourth for Sparty, though the Buckeyes did earn four runs in the fifth.
The Buckeyes got started with a three-run homer from Rosson (also driving home Mershon and Nick Giamarusti). In the third, Mitchell Okuley drove in two runs on a double, and Rosson sent two more home on a single with two outs.
Rosson tacked on his final RBI of the day on a fifth-inning double, and Trey Lipsey hit a three-run homer to cap off the inning, tying the game at 12-12.
From there, it was all Michigan State, who extended their lead to 17-12 by the top of the seventh, then retired the Buckeyes in order in both the seventh and eighth.
Gavin Bruni started for the Buckeyes, striking out four and giving up seven runs on six hits in a 3.0-inning no-decision. Jacob Morin took the loss, his first of the season, after allowing five runs on four hits in 2.0 innings pitched. Rosson went 3-for-4 with his six RBIs to lead the Buckeyes at the plate.
Things turned around on Sunday, though, when the Buckeyes came out on top, 10-6, despite an early three-run lead from the Spartans. Getting one batter home in the bottom of the second brought the score to 3-1, Michigan State, but the Buckeye tied it in the bottom of the third off a two-run homer from Kaczmar to make it 3-3.
The Buckeyes added five more in the bottom of the fifth, and Rosson added the final two runs, continuing his career-best week with a two-run homer.
Gavin DeVooght was the Buckeyes’ starting pitcher, blanking four batters and giving up six runs on five hits in a 4.1-inning no-decision.
Rosson was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for his showing last weekend.
Up next, OSU hosts Cincinnati at home tonight and Akron tomorrow before heading to Illinois for a three-game series this weekend.
The Buckeye softball team (29-18, 10-10) saw its nine-game win streak come to an end against Illinois Sunday, but only after taking the first two games to win the series.
In Friday’s series opener, Buckeye veteran pitcher Allison Smith held the Illini to just four hits, bringing her to 4-0 in her last four starts with a 1.09 ERA. Offensively, a two-run single from Kirsten Eppele drove McKenzie Bump and Sam Hackenbracht home to give the Buckeyes a 2-1 advantage. The final scoring play of the game came off a solo home run from Kaitlyn Farley in the fifth, sealing Ohio State’s 3-1 victory.
Ohio State clinched the series and extended their win streak to nine on Saturday, with a 13-5 victory, despite getting off to a bit of a slow start. Illinois led, 5-1, through the middle of the fourth, before a nine-run showing for the Buckeyes gave them the lead for good. The game ended on a two-run single from Burns in the bottom of the fifth.
The Buckeye bats were hot in the game, with Destinee Noury, Kami Kortokrax, Bump, and Jasmyn Burns driving in home runs (the latter three of whom are all batting over .400). All four had at least two hits and three RBIs in the game, with Burns going 3-for-4.
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Lexi Paulsen recorded the win for the Buckeyes, entering the game in the first inning in relief, striking out three, and not allowing a single hit in 4.2 innings pitched.
Sunday saw Illinois come from behind, scoring eight times in the final two innings to avoid the sweep, 11-6. Kortokrax, Eppele, Farley, and Taylor Heckman all drove in home runs, with Eppele leading the way on her Senior Day, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Kortokrax’s home run was her 10th in as many games.
The regular season draws to a close for OSU next weekend, when they head to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in a three-game series.
After finishing in sixth place in the Big Ten Championships with a team score that placed them two-under par, the women’s golf team has earned itself an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will participate in the NCAA Bryan Regional, held May 6 through May 8 at Texas A&M.
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Twelve teams will compete in the regional, with the top five advancing to the finals.
Ohio State holds a No. 6 seed here as well. The Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA Regionals with an at-large berth in all three years under head coach Lisa Strom.
The men’s golf team spent the weekend at the Scioto Country Club, just up the road from campus, where the wind seemed determined to participate in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes finished fifth out of 18 teams with a team score of 302 (+50), and Neal Shipley finished fifth individually to lead the Buckeyes.
Shipley posted scores of 74, 69, and 74 in the three rounds, finishing at seven-over par on the weekend. Jackson Chandler and Adam Wallin each finished in the top 20 as well, with Chandler finishing +11 in 11th place and Wallin finishing +15 in 19th place.
Now, the Buckeyes wait to see where they’re heading for the NCAA Regionals. The announcement will come Wednesday, starting at 2 p.m. ET.
The Big Ten Tournament ended as quickly as it started for both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams at Ohio State.
The men’s lacrosse team (6-9, 1-4) fell in the Quarterfinals against No. 19 Michigan, a rematch of the regular season finale (which the Buckeyes also lost, 13-12) last weekend.
The first period was a back-and-forth battle that ended with the Buckeyes ahead, 4-3, off senior Marcus Hudgins’ first career goal. But the Wolverines took the lead in the second quarter and held it for the remainder of the game, leading 7-5 at the half, and finishing the game with a six-goal victory, 15-9.
On the women’s side, the Buckeyes played a back-and-forth contest of their own, ultimately falling on the road to No. 16 Penn State, 15-13, ending the Buckeyes’ season.
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The teams went into the half tied at five-all, before an intense third quarter. Penn State took an 8-7 lead before Ohio State scored back-to-back goals to take a 9-8 lead. The score heading into the final quarter was tied at nine apiece. Despite two more goals from the Buckeyes to open the fourth quarter, a five-goal run from Penn State gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good, ultimately outshooting the Buckeyes, 36-29, and holding the advantage in both draw controls and ground balls.
It was a record-setting weekend for Ohio State Track & Field, who competed at the Penn Relays and the Clark Wood Invitational this weekend.
The Buckeyes opened the first day of the meet with four track events Thursday. Senior Chanler Robinson, who was just last week named Big Ten Female Track Athlete of the Week (her first career Big Ten weekly award), competed in the 400m hurdles, finishing in the top 10 with a time of 59.26. Zubin Jha also finished in the top 10 in the 10,000m race, with a time of 29:37.56.
Most notably, Aniya Mosley set a program record in 1500m, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 4:12.34, more than a full second faster than the previous program record, and smashing her personal best time by more than 8.5 seconds.
On Friday, the Buckeye quad of Mosley, Nya Bussey, Leah Bertrand, and Bryannia Murphy broke the program record in the sprint medley relay to finish fifth with a time of 3:45.73. For the men, Daniel Edwards took the top spot in the men’s collegiate pole vault with a personal best of 5.01m / 16’5.25”, while Brian Kellon was the men’s runner-up in triple jump (14.91m / 48’11”).
Other top results for the Buckeyes at the Penn Relays included AnneMarie Moses in the pole vault, who finished fifth by clearing 3.60m / 11’9.75” on the first jump, and Sean Kaminski on the men’s side, who finished sixth in the high jump after clearing a season-best of 2.01m / 6’7”.
Over at the Clark Wood Invitational, the Buckeyes had another strong showing, with several top-five finishes for both the men and women throughout the day Friday. In 400m hurdles, Avery Clark took third place with a season-best time of 1:00.25. Carina Napoleon’s time of 2:10.37 in the 800m was good for second place, and Lacey Stringer was the women’s shot put invite runner-up, with a best throw of 16.04m / 52’7.5”.
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Stringer also finished in third in the hammer throw with a best throw of 54.62m / 179’2”, while Marissa Henley claimed the fifth spot with a throw of 52.32m / 171’8”.
The men claimed three of the top five spots in the shot put invite (Hayden Tobias in second with a best throw of 19.40m / 63’7.75”, Adam Riedinger in fourth with a best throw of 17.63m / 57’10.25”, and Carlos Aviles in fifth with a best throw of 17.42m / 57’2”). They also had a strong showing in men’s hammer throw, with all three Buckeye competitors finishing in the top six. Evan Johnson came in fourth with a throw of 57.70m / 189’3”, while Tobias’s throw of 56.61m / 185’8” was good for fifth. Anthony Wilks finished in sixth (184’7”).
The record-breaking weekend continued into Saturday, when Aviles won his second-consecutive discus competition, breaking a 21-year program record in the process with a best mark of 59.14m / 194’ at Clark Wood in the discus invite. Tanner Watson, with a throw of 57.64m / 189’1”, finished runner-up, while Faith Bender took third for the women with a season-best throw of 56.93m / 186’9”.
Meanwhile, in discus, the Buckeye men took three of the top five spots, each setting a PR in the process (Tobias in third, Johnson in fourth, Riedinger in fifth).
The Buckeyes also posted a pair of wins at the Penn Relays, beginning with Janela Spencer winning the 100m (the Buckeyes’ first 100m win at Penn Relays in 24 years) with a personal-best time of 13.01. Spencer was also part of the winning women’s 4x100m relay team, along with Bussey, Bertrand, and Fatouma Conde, who posted a time of 43.92 in the victory.
Amaya Ugarte also finished third in the high jump by clearing 1.79m / 5’10.5”.
The track and field team will now start to prepare for the 2024 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which will take place in Ann Arbor beginning on May 10.
The No. 14 Ohio State women’s rowing team had a strong showing at the Longhorn Invitational in Texas this weekend, facing primarily No. 12 Virginia but also facing No. 2 Texas. Stanford was also present, though the Buckeyes didn’t race against them in any events.
Together, the four programs have combined to win nine of the last 14 NCAA Championships, making the race a good test for the Buckeyes, who are gearing up for the conference championships before eyeing an appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Ohio State took all three of their head-to-head races against Virginia, losing only one race on the day (the 2V4 race, in which Virginia finished first, Texas second, and the Buckeyes third).
The Buckeyes are now in full preparation mode for the 2024 Big Ten Championships, slated for May 19 in Wisconsin.
The Buckeyes (22-8) kick off 2024 NCAA Tournament play tonight as the No. 6 seed in the Quarterfinals tonight against No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (25-4) in Long Beach, California. Long Beach State University is hosting the tournament.
The Buckeyes earned the MIVA automatic bid after defeating Lindenwood, 3-1, to win the MIVA Tournament title.
Grand Canyon, who used to be a MIVA member, won the last matchup between the Antelopes and the Buckeyes on a neutral court, 3-2, in January 2023, but the Buckeyes hold a 16-3 overall advantage over the Antelopes.
In Ohio State’s 2023 Tournament appearance, they were knocked out by Penn State in the quarterfinals. Now, they’ll look to upset Grand Canyon to advance further than last year’s team.
The winner of the matchup will take on the winner of Belmont Abbey and Long Beach State, who play earlier in the day.
The Buckeyes’ match begins at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on ncaa.com.
In addition to their upcoming Tournament play, four Buckeyes were named AVCA All-Americans, with Jacob Pasteur being named to the Second Team, while Shane Wetzel, Michael Wright, and Cole Young received Honorable Mentions.
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Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
@OhioStateTFXC Twitter.
A look at Big Ten Tournament victory from No. 1 men’s tennis, a record-setting weekend for track & field, and more.
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
Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams found themselves in a Big Ten Tournament Championship showdown with Michigan, though they walked away with different results.
After the No. 1 men’s tennis team breezed to victory in the Big Ten Quarterfinals against Penn State and took down Nebraska in the Semifinals, they walked away victorious over Michigan to claim their second-consecutive Big Ten Tournament title.
In the Quarterfinals, the Buckeyes took the doubles point in just 25 minutes, dropping only one game across three matches. Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima combined their victory with one from Andrew Lutschaunig and Justin Boulais to take the point.
Cash, Tracy, and Jack Anthrop finished their singles sets first to clinch the singles points and send the Buckeyes into the semifinals with a 4-0 win over the Nittany Lions.
In the Semifinals, OSU dropped the doubles point but dominated Nebraska in singles matchups to spring to a 4-1 victory, winning all six opening singles sets. Tracy and Cannon Kingsley had the sole doubles victory, and Boulais, Anthrop, Cash, and Alexander Bernard finished their singles sets first to send the Buckeyes into the finals.
In Sunday’s finals, the Buckeyes came out of the gate ready to take the doubles point, with Kingsley and Anthrop winning their match first, followed by a victory from Boulais and Lutschaunig to secure the point.
Anthrop then nailed down a quick singles win, followed by wins from Kingsley and Tracy to secure the title, the Buckeyes’ 17th overall.
Tracy was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Up next, the Buckeyes will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, where they will be the top seed overall. They open against Cleveland State this Friday afternoon.
The No. 12 women finished their Big Ten Tournament run as the runners-up after defeating Penn State in the Quarterfinals and Northwestern in the Semifinals before falling to Michigan on Sunday in the final round.
They won easily on Friday, taking the doubles point and three straight-set singles wins for a 4-1 victory over the Nittany Lions. The duos of Madeline Atway and Teah Chavez, as well as Irina Cantos Siemers and Luciana Perry, clinched the doubles point for the Buckeyes. Atway and Chavez did not drop a game in their match.
Perry, Chavez, and captain Cantos Siemers all won their singles matches to finish out the victory.
In the Semifinals against Northwestern, the women mirrored the men, dropping the doubles point before straight-set singles victories from Perry, Chavez, Cantos Siemers and Audrey Spencer secured their trip to the finals, making it the fourth tournament in a row where the Buckeyes and Wolverines met in the final.
The finals didn’t bring the results the women had hoped for, falling to No. 2 Michigan, 4-2, but it was still a hard-fought match. The Buckeyes dropped the doubles point but netted singles wins from Perry and Shelly Bereznyak. Both Perry and Cantos Siemers were named to the all-tournament team.
Up next, the women will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, where they will take on Toledo in the opening round this Saturday and Sunday.
Baseball
The OSU baseball team (20-20, 7-8) dropped three of four this past week but ended the weekend on a high note with a victory over Michigan State at home.
Up first, the Buckeyes hit the road for a rematch with Wright State, falling 14-13, an exact reversal of the Buckeyes’ winning score the week prior, despite out-hitting the Raiders, 12-9. OSU and Wright State split the series for the season.
The Raiders held a steady lead from the fifth inning (in which they scored eight runs) all the way through the eighth. But the Buckeyes weren’t giving up, and they added two runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, 13-12. It came down to the final out—with one-on (the lead-off batter who had been walked) when the tying run scored on a Buckeye error and an RBI single gave Wright State the win.
Henry Kaczmar, Matthew Graveline, Joseph Mershon, and Josh Stevenson each had a pair of hits to lead the Buckeyes, while Hunter Rosson led the Buckeyes in RBIs with four runners brought home.
The boys then headed home to prepare for a three-game series with Michigan State, which they lost, 2-1.
The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes, 11-4, Friday night, a game in which Sparty never trailed. OSU didn’t get on the board until the bottom of the fourth, when Kaczmer scored on a groundout from Tyler Pettorini and Graveline made it home off a sacrifice fly from Mershon, cutting the Spartans’ lead to 4-2. A two-run homer from Kaczmer in the eighth was the Buckeyes’ only other scoring play of the game.
Landon Beidelschies took the loss for the Buckeyes, falling to 4-7 on the season. He struck out one and gave up six runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings. Kaczmar led the Buckeyes with two hits and two RBIs.
Saturday saw a career-best performance out of Rosson, but it still wasn’t enough to top the Spartans. The Buckeyes fell, 17-12, in a battle of the bats. Rosson drove in a career-high six runs in the loss.
OSU held a three-run lead after the third, but they wouldn’t lead again after a six-run fourth for Sparty, though the Buckeyes did earn four runs in the fifth.
The Buckeyes got started with a three-run homer from Rosson (also driving home Mershon and Nick Giamarusti). In the third, Mitchell Okuley drove in two runs on a double, and Rosson sent two more home on a single with two outs.
Rosson tacked on his final RBI of the day on a fifth-inning double, and Trey Lipsey hit a three-run homer to cap off the inning, tying the game at 12-12.
From there, it was all Michigan State, who extended their lead to 17-12 by the top of the seventh, then retired the Buckeyes in order in both the seventh and eighth.
Gavin Bruni started for the Buckeyes, striking out four and giving up seven runs on six hits in a 3.0-inning no-decision. Jacob Morin took the loss, his first of the season, after allowing five runs on four hits in 2.0 innings pitched. Rosson went 3-for-4 with his six RBIs to lead the Buckeyes at the plate.
Things turned around on Sunday, though, when the Buckeyes came out on top, 10-6, despite an early three-run lead from the Spartans. Getting one batter home in the bottom of the second brought the score to 3-1, Michigan State, but the Buckeye tied it in the bottom of the third off a two-run homer from Kaczmar to make it 3-3.
The Buckeyes added five more in the bottom of the fifth, and Rosson added the final two runs, continuing his career-best week with a two-run homer.
Gavin DeVooght was the Buckeyes’ starting pitcher, blanking four batters and giving up six runs on five hits in a 4.1-inning no-decision.
Rosson was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for his showing last weekend.
, @hunterrosson
Rosson earns Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors after slashing .545/.583/1.545 with a 2.129 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBIs last week#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/S6MTBSdl2Y
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) April 29, 2024
Up next, OSU hosts Cincinnati at home tonight and Akron tomorrow before heading to Illinois for a three-game series this weekend.
Softball
The Buckeye softball team (29-18, 10-10) saw its nine-game win streak come to an end against Illinois Sunday, but only after taking the first two games to win the series.
In Friday’s series opener, Buckeye veteran pitcher Allison Smith held the Illini to just four hits, bringing her to 4-0 in her last four starts with a 1.09 ERA. Offensively, a two-run single from Kirsten Eppele drove McKenzie Bump and Sam Hackenbracht home to give the Buckeyes a 2-1 advantage. The final scoring play of the game came off a solo home run from Kaitlyn Farley in the fifth, sealing Ohio State’s 3-1 victory.
Ohio State clinched the series and extended their win streak to nine on Saturday, with a 13-5 victory, despite getting off to a bit of a slow start. Illinois led, 5-1, through the middle of the fourth, before a nine-run showing for the Buckeyes gave them the lead for good. The game ended on a two-run single from Burns in the bottom of the fifth.
The Buckeye bats were hot in the game, with Destinee Noury, Kami Kortokrax, Bump, and Jasmyn Burns driving in home runs (the latter three of whom are all batting over .400). All four had at least two hits and three RBIs in the game, with Burns going 3-for-4.
Lexi Paulsen recorded the win for the Buckeyes, entering the game in the first inning in relief, striking out three, and not allowing a single hit in 4.2 innings pitched.
Sunday saw Illinois come from behind, scoring eight times in the final two innings to avoid the sweep, 11-6. Kortokrax, Eppele, Farley, and Taylor Heckman all drove in home runs, with Eppele leading the way on her Senior Day, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Kortokrax’s home run was her 10th in as many games.
The regular season draws to a close for OSU next weekend, when they head to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in a three-game series.
Golf
After finishing in sixth place in the Big Ten Championships with a team score that placed them two-under par, the women’s golf team has earned itself an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will participate in the NCAA Bryan Regional, held May 6 through May 8 at Texas A&M.
Twelve teams will compete in the regional, with the top five advancing to the finals.
Ohio State holds a No. 6 seed here as well. The Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA Regionals with an at-large berth in all three years under head coach Lisa Strom.
The men’s golf team spent the weekend at the Scioto Country Club, just up the road from campus, where the wind seemed determined to participate in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes finished fifth out of 18 teams with a team score of 302 (+50), and Neal Shipley finished fifth individually to lead the Buckeyes.
Shipley posted scores of 74, 69, and 74 in the three rounds, finishing at seven-over par on the weekend. Jackson Chandler and Adam Wallin each finished in the top 20 as well, with Chandler finishing +11 in 11th place and Wallin finishing +15 in 19th place.
Now, the Buckeyes wait to see where they’re heading for the NCAA Regionals. The announcement will come Wednesday, starting at 2 p.m. ET.
Lacrosse
The Big Ten Tournament ended as quickly as it started for both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams at Ohio State.
The men’s lacrosse team (6-9, 1-4) fell in the Quarterfinals against No. 19 Michigan, a rematch of the regular season finale (which the Buckeyes also lost, 13-12) last weekend.
The first period was a back-and-forth battle that ended with the Buckeyes ahead, 4-3, off senior Marcus Hudgins’ first career goal. But the Wolverines took the lead in the second quarter and held it for the remainder of the game, leading 7-5 at the half, and finishing the game with a six-goal victory, 15-9.
On the women’s side, the Buckeyes played a back-and-forth contest of their own, ultimately falling on the road to No. 16 Penn State, 15-13, ending the Buckeyes’ season.
The teams went into the half tied at five-all, before an intense third quarter. Penn State took an 8-7 lead before Ohio State scored back-to-back goals to take a 9-8 lead. The score heading into the final quarter was tied at nine apiece. Despite two more goals from the Buckeyes to open the fourth quarter, a five-goal run from Penn State gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good, ultimately outshooting the Buckeyes, 36-29, and holding the advantage in both draw controls and ground balls.
Track & Field
It was a record-setting weekend for Ohio State Track & Field, who competed at the Penn Relays and the Clark Wood Invitational this weekend.
The Buckeyes opened the first day of the meet with four track events Thursday. Senior Chanler Robinson, who was just last week named Big Ten Female Track Athlete of the Week (her first career Big Ten weekly award), competed in the 400m hurdles, finishing in the top 10 with a time of 59.26. Zubin Jha also finished in the top 10 in the 10,000m race, with a time of 29:37.56.
Most notably, Aniya Mosley set a program record in 1500m, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 4:12.34, more than a full second faster than the previous program record, and smashing her personal best time by more than 8.5 seconds.
On Friday, the Buckeye quad of Mosley, Nya Bussey, Leah Bertrand, and Bryannia Murphy broke the program record in the sprint medley relay to finish fifth with a time of 3:45.73. For the men, Daniel Edwards took the top spot in the men’s collegiate pole vault with a personal best of 5.01m / 16’5.25”, while Brian Kellon was the men’s runner-up in triple jump (14.91m / 48’11”).
Other top results for the Buckeyes at the Penn Relays included AnneMarie Moses in the pole vault, who finished fifth by clearing 3.60m / 11’9.75” on the first jump, and Sean Kaminski on the men’s side, who finished sixth in the high jump after clearing a season-best of 2.01m / 6’7”.
Over at the Clark Wood Invitational, the Buckeyes had another strong showing, with several top-five finishes for both the men and women throughout the day Friday. In 400m hurdles, Avery Clark took third place with a season-best time of 1:00.25. Carina Napoleon’s time of 2:10.37 in the 800m was good for second place, and Lacey Stringer was the women’s shot put invite runner-up, with a best throw of 16.04m / 52’7.5”.
Stringer also finished in third in the hammer throw with a best throw of 54.62m / 179’2”, while Marissa Henley claimed the fifth spot with a throw of 52.32m / 171’8”.
The men claimed three of the top five spots in the shot put invite (Hayden Tobias in second with a best throw of 19.40m / 63’7.75”, Adam Riedinger in fourth with a best throw of 17.63m / 57’10.25”, and Carlos Aviles in fifth with a best throw of 17.42m / 57’2”). They also had a strong showing in men’s hammer throw, with all three Buckeye competitors finishing in the top six. Evan Johnson came in fourth with a throw of 57.70m / 189’3”, while Tobias’s throw of 56.61m / 185’8” was good for fifth. Anthony Wilks finished in sixth (184’7”).
The record-breaking weekend continued into Saturday, when Aviles won his second-consecutive discus competition, breaking a 21-year program record in the process with a best mark of 59.14m / 194’ at Clark Wood in the discus invite. Tanner Watson, with a throw of 57.64m / 189’1”, finished runner-up, while Faith Bender took third for the women with a season-best throw of 56.93m / 186’9”.
Meanwhile, in discus, the Buckeye men took three of the top five spots, each setting a PR in the process (Tobias in third, Johnson in fourth, Riedinger in fifth).
The Buckeyes also posted a pair of wins at the Penn Relays, beginning with Janela Spencer winning the 100m (the Buckeyes’ first 100m win at Penn Relays in 24 years) with a personal-best time of 13.01. Spencer was also part of the winning women’s 4x100m relay team, along with Bussey, Bertrand, and Fatouma Conde, who posted a time of 43.92 in the victory.
Amaya Ugarte also finished third in the high jump by clearing 1.79m / 5’10.5”.
The track and field team will now start to prepare for the 2024 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which will take place in Ann Arbor beginning on May 10.
Rowing
The No. 14 Ohio State women’s rowing team had a strong showing at the Longhorn Invitational in Texas this weekend, facing primarily No. 12 Virginia but also facing No. 2 Texas. Stanford was also present, though the Buckeyes didn’t race against them in any events.
Together, the four programs have combined to win nine of the last 14 NCAA Championships, making the race a good test for the Buckeyes, who are gearing up for the conference championships before eyeing an appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Ohio State took all three of their head-to-head races against Virginia, losing only one race on the day (the 2V4 race, in which Virginia finished first, Texas second, and the Buckeyes third).
The Buckeyes are now in full preparation mode for the 2024 Big Ten Championships, slated for May 19 in Wisconsin.
Men’s Volleyball
The Buckeyes (22-8) kick off 2024 NCAA Tournament play tonight as the No. 6 seed in the Quarterfinals tonight against No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (25-4) in Long Beach, California. Long Beach State University is hosting the tournament.
The Buckeyes earned the MIVA automatic bid after defeating Lindenwood, 3-1, to win the MIVA Tournament title.
Grand Canyon, who used to be a MIVA member, won the last matchup between the Antelopes and the Buckeyes on a neutral court, 3-2, in January 2023, but the Buckeyes hold a 16-3 overall advantage over the Antelopes.
In Ohio State’s 2023 Tournament appearance, they were knocked out by Penn State in the quarterfinals. Now, they’ll look to upset Grand Canyon to advance further than last year’s team.
The winner of the matchup will take on the winner of Belmont Abbey and Long Beach State, who play earlier in the day.
The Buckeyes’ match begins at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on ncaa.com.
In addition to their upcoming Tournament play, four Buckeyes were named AVCA All-Americans, with Jacob Pasteur being named to the Second Team, while Shane Wetzel, Michael Wright, and Cole Young received Honorable Mentions.
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