The Ohio State baseball team stayed hot and extended its win streak to four with an emphatic 10-5 comeback victory over the Toledo Rockets.

The Ohio State baseball team returned home to take on the visiting Toledo Rockets on 614 Night at Bill Davis Stadium. Both teams opted to use the midweek nonconference matchup as a bullpen game. Partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s provided a beautiful night for March baseball in Columbus. 

Toledo got on the board early as 2-hitter Charlie Scholvin raked a ball over the left field wall off of Ohio State graduate starting pitcher Ryan Butler. That would be all for the Rockets in the top half of the first to hold a 1-0 lead. Toledo held Ohio State scoreless. 

Cole Cahill lined a ball into the gap in right-center field to drive in Liam Arsich, which stretched Toledo’s lead to 2-0. The following two batters were hit by Ryan Butler, which loaded the bases for the Rockets, looking to extend the lead with two outs. 

As if things couldn’t get worse for Butler, he put a third straight man on base, bringing in a run and tightening his jam and leash. A snapback throw to third bailed out Butler, as catcher Mason Eckleman picked off Toledo runner Ryan Sudbrook to stop the bleeding at 3-0 after 2 innings. 

Ohio State’s Emphatic Comeback

Ohio State first baseman Dane Harvey roped a double in the bottom of the fourth to advance Mason Eckleman to third, setting up the first scoring opportunity of the night for the Buckeyes. Lee Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly to left field as Harvey and Eckleman tagged up, getting Ohio State on the board. 

After Harvey got caught in no-man’s land on a ground ball hit right back to the pitcher, Ohio State needed an answer. Maddix Simpson rounded the bases on the next play, which was hit back to Cole Giesige again. This time, he threw it away, and Simpson scored on the error from first. 

Grant Mangrum continued the rally for Ohio State and tied the game at 3 with an RBI single in the gap over second base, beating the Toledo shift. Self-inflicted wounds plagued the Rockets repeatedly in the bottom of the fourth as Ohio State added two more runs on an E4, as Ryan Sudbrook threw the ball over Preston Zumwalt’s head into his own dugout. Justin Haire’s Buckeyes ended the fourth with a 5-3 lead and momentum. 

In the top of the sixth, Charlie Scholvin singled to right field, scoring 2 to tie the game. However, the Buckeyes answered in the bottom half thanks to another Toledo error. Miles Vandenheuvel scored on a passed ball to regain the lead 6-5, and the sun set over Bill Davis Stadium. 

With two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Alex Bemis took a power swing that yielded the loudest crowd pop of the day. Bemis continued his hot streak and launched a no-doubt three-run homer to straight away center field, and broke the game wide open for the Buckeyes. Ohio State increased its lead to four, up 9-5 under the lights.

Lee Ellis found another way to impact the game in the bottom of the eighth as he drove in a run on a groundout to shortstop. Justin Haire’s Buckeyes carried a 10-5 lead into the ninth. That ended the scoring for the night as Ohio State took care of Toledo in the top half of the ninth to close the game and seal a 10-5 victory.

Postgame, I asked head coach Justin Haire to speak to the poise of his team as of late on this hot streak, and to respond to being down three early. He said, “It’s hard to beat a team that doesn’t quit.” Haire continued, explaining that his team is all in and decided two weeks ago to flip a switch.

Ohio State (14-13), winners of four straight, has won eight of its last nine games, injecting life back into the Buckeye baseball program. The Scarlet and Gray return to conference play with a three-game weekend series against Maryland (13-15), beginning on Friday at 6:00 pm.