College Baseball in Ohio – Week 7 – March 30th, 2026

Saturday would be a bigger game on the scoreboard for Ohio State. Eckelman and Harry Kaczmar would again bring the offense for the Bucks. They would be involved in scoring six of Ohio State’s runs in the 9-3 victory. Kaczmar and Eckelman would bring it again on Sunday, and every offense they could generate would be needed. Kaczmar would have a solo home run, his second dinger of the series. He would also extend his streak of games with a hit to 14. Eckelman would get two hits, a double that would knock in two runs, and another home run. Eckelman’s home run on Sunday was a grand slam that would give the Buckeyes the 12-9 victory.

Ohio State swept Minnesota, getting their first Big Ten sweep since 2023 against that team up north. Justin Haire has already equaled his win total from 2025 now with this 13^th win of 2026. OSU is one Big Ten win away from matching their conference total from last season, too. It’s becoming clearer every week that Haire and this program have improved significantly from year one to year two. Ohio State has won seven of their last eight games. The Buckeyes begin a nine-game homestand tomorrow, welcoming the Toledo Rockets to Columbus. OSU will then host Maryland for three games over the weekend.

Cincinnati 20-10 (4-5 in the Big 12)

The Bearcats had a rough week. They lost their Crosstown Shootout on Tuesday to archrival Xavier. Xavier got a walk-off, 4-3, victory over UC. Cincinnati got back to business over the weekend against the Kansas Jayhawks. Things got started right on Friday, with the Bearcats shutting out the Jayhawks and getting the 5-0 victory. That was about all she wrote for UC this week, though. Their bats were quiet on Saturday, as they fell 8-2. Sunday was another stumble as Kansas took the series with a 13-6 win. UC wraps up their eight straight games in the Queen City tomorrow against Wright State. This week they will head to Oklahoma for a weekend series against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The one victory, and home run #19 for star Quinton Coats, were all UC had to show for this week.

Xavier 9-20 (1-2 in the Big East)

The X-Men got their week off to a great start, upsetting their Queen City rival in the Cincinnati Bearcats. They did it in walk-off fashion, too! Winning this rivalry game is always big in Cincy, and Xavier has made their name pulling off the upsets against the Bearcats when the Cats are at their best. That was certainly true of this 4-3 win.

The trip to the northeast for Xavier didn’t go quite as well. They struggled to generate offense against UConn. They lost their opener against the Huskies 3-1. Things went from bad to worse on Saturday, when UConn smashed Xavier, shutting them out, and getting the 8-0 win. Xavier kept battling, though. On Sunday, they got some offense and good pitching and won 6-1. X will keep their road trip going with a game tomorrow at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. They’ll then head back east to take on Georgetown for a three-game weekend series.

Dayton 15-12 (3-6 in the Atlantic 10)

The Flyers were downed again by the RedHawks for the second time in as many weeks. Miami won this time, 14-4. Dayton couldn’t rest as they had to head to North Carolina to play conference foe, Davidson. The series against the Wildcats got off to a great start on Friday. Dayton routed Davidson, 20-4.

It turns out, Dayton may have wanted to save a couple of those runs on Friday for later in the series. Davidson evened the series on Saturday with a 9-7 victory. Sunday was a bitter back-and-forth game to decide who would take the series in an all-important Atlantic 10 battle. Dayton would come out on the wrong side, this time by a score of 9-8. Despite outscoring Davidson 35-22, the Flyers lost two of their three games and the series. Dayton returns home this week for a three-game stand over the weekend against Fordham.

Wright State 11-13 (5-1 in the Horizon League)

WSU got their week off to a good start, proving why they are one of the best, if not the best, baseball program in the state of Ohio. Wright State hosted under the Gem City lights in-state foe from Columbus, Ohio State. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the Raiders would break a late 8-8 tie and come away with the 10-8 victory over the Buckeyes.

Wright State would then get back to Horizon League play, hosting Oakland. The Raiders would take game one on Friday, 12-4. They’d win again on Saturday, 11-5. Wright State would be riding a six-game winning streak into the finale with Oakland on Sunday. Oakland would end the Raiders’ winning streak with a 10-7 upset win. Wright State was 5-12 two weeks ago, and are now 11-13 and in first place in the Horizon League. The Raiders will continue their 25-straight games within the borders of the Buckeye State tomorrow at Cincinnati. They’ll then return home to host Northern Kentucky for three games this weekend.

Youngstown State 3-22 (1-5 in the Horizon League)

The gutter season continued for Youngstown State this week. Five games, five more losses, all of them decided by one run. They lost at Eastern Michigan, 8-7 on Tuesday, followed by another 8-7 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. This one from a walk-off bunt. They lost to Northern Kentucky on Friday, 7-6. Saturday and Sunday, the Penguins fell to the Norse, 5-4 in both games. YSU will try to break their seven game losing streak when they host Akron tomorrow before heading back out on the road, this time for a weekend series in Milwaukee.

Ohio 5-22 (3-9 in the MAC)

The hope from Ohio’s series victory over Bowling Green last week was very short-lived. Things didn’t go well for the Bobcats when they went to Muncie, Indiana, to take on Ball State. Ball State pummeled Ohio by the scores of 10-0, 14-7, and 17-7. Ohio was outscored 41-14 by Ball State. OU will play at Marshall tomorrow, and then they will return home for a three-game weekend series against Kent State.

Kent State 19-7 (9-3 in the MAC)

The Golden Flashes came into this game blazing hot. They had won eight straight games and 13 of their last 14 games. While it may have been expected that they would cool off this week, Kent State was at home against good competition and crucial in-conference games. Their first game against Pitt on Tuesday went poorly. The Panthers won, 13-4. Friday, another top MAC team, the Miami RedHawks came to town. The opening game went to Kent State in dramatic fashion. The Golden Flashes got the 5-4, walk-off win.

Miami came roaring back on Saturday, just mauling Kent State in game two, 21-3. Sunday’s rubber match was more closely contested, but Kent State still fell, this time, 8-5. Kent State will host Baldwin Wallace tomorrow. The Golden Flashes will then head down to Athens for a three-game series at Ohio, followed by a Monday game against rival Akron.

Akron 12-14 (5-7 in the MAC)

The Zips got their week off to a good start on the road at Mercyhurst. It was a tight contest, but Akron came away the winner, 8-7. Akron came back home after that for three games against the Toledo Rockets. Toledo decisively crushed Akron, 13-1, on Friday. Saturday things improved only mildly with the Rockets winning again, this time, 7-3. Akron came into Sunday’s final game, determined to at least break even this week.

Akron gutted out a 7-4 win to finish their week 2-2. The Akron Zips will play at Youngstown State tomorrow, and then play three games against Bowling Green. That series will begin on Thursday and will be followed up by a game at Kent State on Monday.

Miami (Ohio) 17-9 (7-5 in the MAC)

The RedHawks were fresh off being swept by Northern Illinois last week and were playing an important slate of games on the road. First was near home against the Dayton Flyers. Miami repeated their success from their first game against Dayton this year. The RedHawks had won 13-7 the first time, and were victorious 14-4 this time. Miami beat UD by a combined score of 27-11 this year.

Miami then headed to Northeast Ohio to battle Kent State. The RedHawks blew a 4-0 lead and lost game one, 5-4. Miami was determined not to repeat that mistake on Saturday. They roared out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. Miami would win, 21-3. On Sunday, the cleat was on the other foot. Kent State jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the RedHawks roared back to the 8-5 victory. Miami will head to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on the Wildcats tomorrow. They’ll then return home for three games in the Red Bird Rivalry against Ball State starting on Thursday.

Toledo 12-14 (8-4 in the MAC)

UT got off to an ugly start this week when they went to Nap Town to play Butler. The Bulldogs, who had just been swept by Ohio State, took their frustrations out on Toledo with an 11-1 beatdown. Things got worse for Toledo as they had to go to Ann Arbor to play UM. They lost 5-2. Blessed to leave that place up north and come back to Ohio, Toledo went to Akron. Toledo took game one, 13-1. They took the series the next day, 7-3. The Rockets couldn’t complete the sweep of the Zips on Sunday, falling 7-4. Toledo will finish their nine-game road trip at Ohio State tomorrow. They’ll play a weekend series beginning on Thursday against Eastern Michigan.

Bowling Green 8-17 (4-8 in the MAC)

BGSU started their week with a couple of fellow Northwestern Ohio teams. First, they played Tiffin and eked out a 7-6 victory. Hosting Findlay the following day wouldn’t work out as well for Bowling Green. Findlay would upset the Falcons, 12-7. The Falcons then hit the road to take on Northern Illinois in DeKalb. They won the first matchup against the Huskies, 5-4. NIU struck back, taking the series with 5-0, and 12-8 wins. BGSU will play against Oakland tomorrow to kick off a week of home games. They’ll then host Akron for three games beginning on Thursday.

Ohio Power Rankings

1. Cincinnati 20-10 (4-5 in the Big 12)
2. Miami (Ohio) 17-9 (7-5 in the MAC)
3. Kent State 19-7 (9-3 in the MAC)
4. Ohio State 13-13 (4-5 in the Big Ten)
5. Dayton 15-12 (3-6 in the Atlantic 10)
6. Wright State 11-13 (5-1 in the Horizon League)
7. Toledo 12-14 (8-4 in the MAC)
8. Akron 12-14 (5-7 in the MAC)
9. Xavier 9-20 (1-2 in the Big East)
10. Bowling Green 8-17 (4-8 in the MAC)
11. Ohio 5-22 (3-9 in the MAC)
12. Youngstown State 3-22 (1-5 in the Horizon League)

Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week

Ohio State catcher Mason Eckelman was the standout player from Ohio this week. Eckelman was crucial for Ohio State in their success this week. Eckelman had seven hits, 12 runs batted in, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and that includes a grand slam on Sunday.