Ohio State senior infielder Colton Bauer (8) prepares for the pitch during the Ohio State-Iowa game on March 26. Ohio State won 8-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
It appeared that the Buckeyes’ backs were against the wall before they even took their first turn to bat on Friday night.
Temperatures below 55 degrees, wind and light rain sprinkled in ahead of first pitch at 6 p.m. — and the forecast only projected the weather to get worse.
On top of the conditions, the Wildcats plated five runs in the top of the first inning against redshirt junior left-hander Seth Lonsway, who had won three of his last four games at home and sat third in the Big Ten with 94 strikeouts.
But, Ohio State (21-19) relied on its brotherhood to outlast Northwestern (14-20) in a wild 13-10 affair that tested the strength of all nine players on the diamond for either team.
“Kind of unlike anything we’ve really seen here at the end of May,” junior shortstop Zach Dezenzo said. “It kind of got worse as the rain went on. The rain started to come and it started getting colder a little bit. We just stuck through it and kept battling and kept competing.”
The Buckeyes overcame deficits of 5-0 and 7-4 when they tied the ballgame at seven when Dezenzo hit the first of two home runs — a season-high — with a 3-run shot over the wall in right-center field with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Seniors second baseman Colton Bauer and catcher Archer Brookman pushed the go-ahead runs across an inning later on a double and single, respectively, to take a 9-7 lead over the Wildcats from which they never looked back.
“Really proud of just the character,” head coach Greg Beals said. “The character that we showed and the ability to stay in the ballgame and the ability to continue to compete.”
Lonsway was lifted after 3 2/3 innings in which he allowed seven runs across six hits and six walks — all figures were season-highs. Junior right-hander Will Pfennig came on with the bases loaded and two outs, then forced a strikeout of freshman right fielder Ethan O’Donnell to end the jam.
Pfennig retired the first five batters he faced and nine of 11 to help Ohio State hold onto a 13-7 lead entering the eighth inning.
“Got to give a lot of credit to Will Pfennig. Will came in and calmed the waters and changed the tempo,” Beals said. “A quicker tempo, and it gave our guys something to work with. We kept scoring runs and he kept putting up zeroes, and we got ourselves right back in and got ourselves even in the lead of that ballgame.”
Freshman second baseman Tony Livermore began the top half of the eighth inning with the first home run of his career to right field, and two of the next three Northwestern hitters reached before graduate southpaw Patrick Murphy relieved Pfennig.
The next three Wildcats reached base on a single, error and fielder’s choice that scored two more runs to pull the game within three, 13-10. Murphy forced O’Donnell to strike out for a third time to end the inning, and junior right-hander TJ Brock worked a scoreless ninth with three strikeouts to seal the victory.
“It was an idea of our ballclub, our will — and we talk about brotherhood a lot — every time we suit up in this uniform, we’re putting our brotherhood on the line and I saw us fight for that tonight,” Beals said.
All nine Buckeyes starters reached base while four of them had multi-hit performances. Dezenzo’s six RBIs were a career-high while Brookman added three more via a 2-run home run to get Ohio State on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning.
Brookman also reached base in all four plate appearances, drawing a pair of walks while rounding the bases to score two runs. Bauer finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and as many runs scored, while redshirt senior first baseman Conner Pohl contributed two hits and a stolen base.
Northwestern pounded 11 hits and saw all nine of its starters reach base as well. Junior catcher Michael Trautwein led the Wildcats with a 3-for-5 night at the plate while junior center fielder David Dunn drove in a team-high four runs and robbed Bauer of what could’ve been a hit with a diving catch at the warning track in right-center field to end the bottom of the second inning.
“For us, it’s just all about going out there, competing and having a lot of fun,” Dezenzo said. “Cherishing every opportunity, every moment that we get left with each other. Got a great group of seniors that are leaving us, so for me, for everybody else here, it’s just about taking advantage of all the chances that we have left and really just trying to have fun with it and play good baseball.”
The middle game of the three-game set is booked for a 7:05 p.m. start on Saturday that will broadcast on Big Ten Network. Junior right-hander Garrett Burhenn will make his first start since his first-career complete game against Indiana Sunday.