Baseball: Buckeyes host the Hawkeyes this weekend in crucial Big Ten series

Mark Metz
Fri, 12 Apr 2024 14:59:26 +0000
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The Ohio State men’s baseball team sings Carmen Ohio in the rain after a 13-7 victory over Morehead State at Bill Davis Stadium Wednesday. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics

As college baseball crosses the halfway point of the season, Ohio State needs every win it can get.

This weekend features a series at Bill Davis Stadium with the Buckeyes (15-14, 3-3 Big Ten) against the Hawkeyes (17-13, 5-4 Big Ten). Iowa was the clear preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, but they have fallen below expectations.

The Hawkeyes are coming off a record-setting season in 2023 where they tied their program-high in wins with 44 and earned a spot in their second-ever regional final. As Iowa came into the 2024 season ranked No. 20, it was expected to dominate the conference.

Yet, after 30 games, Iowa hasn’t shown many signs of a Big Ten champion. Just like the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes haven’t been able to truly sustain momentum and have struggled to string wins together.

The veteran-heavy Hawkeye lineup is highlighted by senior utility man Andy Nelson and junior third baseman Raider Tello. Nelson is top 10 in nearly all major hitting categories, as he is third with a .408 batting average and second with a .676 slugging percentage. On the other hand, Tello has started 10 more games than Nelson and has a .382 batting average. Nelson is also the team leader with 47 hits.

The team, as a whole, is hitting .319, right behind Rutgers at .320. Hitting-wise, the team is undeniably a regional-bound team, but the Hawkeye’s pitching has struggled immensely.

Before the season, the junior pitching pair Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan were projected top-round MLB draft picks, but they both have seen a historic drop-off in 2024.

Morgan was a key piece for the 2023 Hawkeyes, but this year has not gone his way as his ERA has dropped from 3.72 to 8.42. While he has only started eight games, Morgan is currently left out of Iowa’s starting rotation.

Brecht hasn’t had as big of a fall-off as Morgan but he has been demoted to the Saturday starter and owns a 4.62 ERA. Brecht’s biggest strong suit is the swing-and-miss ratio; he has pitched 37 innings and gathered 69 strikeouts, translating to nearly two per inning.

Combined with Brecht comes sophomore southpaw Cade Obermueller, who has stepped up for the Hawkeye pitching unit. In his second season, Obermueller has become Iowa’s ace, owning a 3.11 ERA with an opponent batting average of .153 against him.

For the Buckeyes, the middle of their lineup is their strongest characteristic. Graduate captain Mitchell Okuley and junior Tyler Pettorini, along with sophomores Matthew Graveline and Henry Kaczmar, are all hitting over .300. They are also all coming off three high-scoring games. Junior outfielder Trey Lipsey’s bat is hot, as he raised his average from .222 to .239 during the midweek games.

As for the Buckeye starting pitchers, Iowa will likely see sophomore ace Landon Beidelschies on Friday, junior Gavin Bruni combining with senior Colin Purcell on Saturday and freshman Gavin DeVooght on Sunday.

Beidelschies may have five losses but he still owns an above-average 3.63 ERA. This will be DeVooght’s third start and he currently holds an impressive 1.86 ERA.

The teams previously met in Iowa City, Iowa, in 2023 with Iowa taking two of three. In the last game of the series last season, the Buckeyes won and began their nine-game win streak to end the year.

The 2024 Buckeyes share a few similarities with the 2023 Ohio State baseball squad, including the exact same 15-14 record through 29 games. As déjà vu begins to settle in, the Buckeyes will look to avoid the three straight Big Ten series losses that occurred after this point last year.

The first game kicks off Friday at 6 p.m., followed by start times of 2 p.m., on Saturday and noon on Sunday.