College Baseball in Ohio – Week 9 – April 13th, 2026

Ohio State would have the chance to take the series from Penn State on Sunday. OSU would win 15-10 in a high-scoring conclusion. The Buckeyes have won three of their five Big Ten series so far this season. This week, the Buckeyes will wrap up their homestand on Wednesday against Marshall. Ohio State will then hit the road for a weekend three-game slate against Purdue.

Cincinnati 24-14 (6-9 in the Big 12)

UC got play in the Joe Nuxhall Classic in Mason, Ohio, this week. Wright State and Xavier played at Prasco Park on Tuesday, and Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) played in it on Wednesday. The Bearcats would emerge victorious over Miami with an 8-7 win. Cincy got the first win of their series against Baylor on Friday. UC was thriving at home in the Queen City. Slugger Quinton Coats gave Cincinnati the walk-off win on Friday, ending the game 11-1, and giving Coats his 21^st home run of the season.

Cincy would dominate again on Saturday, this time with a shutout. The Bearcats would get the 8-0 victory. UC would go for the sweep on Sunday, but Baylor would battle back and get at least one win before leaving the Queen City. Cincinnati fell, 8-3 on Sunday, but still came away with an important Big 12 series victory and won three of their four games this week. This week the Cats will host rival Xavier on Tuesday. They’ll then head to Orlando for three-game series against UCF.

Xavier 16-21 (6-3 in the Big East)

X got their week going good right off the bat! Xavier played Wright State in Mason, Ohio at the Joe Nuxhall Classic. It was a lower-scoring game, but the Musketeers prevailed, 4-2, on Tuesday. Xavier would continue their success on Friday, as they opened their series against Villanova with an 8-4 win.

Xavier looked to stay on track on Saturday against Nova. X stayed in the game despite trailing 6-0 early. Entering the bottom of the ninth, Xavier trailed 7-6. Shortstop Luke Hammond would end the game with one swing of the bat. His two-run home run would give Xavier the walk-off, 9-7 win!

The Musketeers kept the good times rolling on Sunday, too. Xavier completed their sweep of Villanova with a 9-6 win. X led 9-1 going into the ninth, and weathered a five-run top of the ninth by Villanova before getting the victory. Xavier has now won eight of their last nine games and are 6-3 in the Big East. Tomorrow, Xavier will play Crosstown Shootout Rival UC before a weekend road trip to New Jersey to play Seton Hall.

Dayton 18-15 (5-9 in the Atlantic 10)

The Flyers got their week started off on a positive note when they went north and took on Toledo. On Tuesday, Dayton left town with a 9-5 over the Rockets. The Flyers stumbled out of the gate on Friday in the first game of their series against Atlantic 10 foe St. Joseph’s. UD fell 5-3 at home. Another low-scoring, hard-fought battle against the conference-leading Hawks took place on Saturday, with Dayton sadly finding themselves on the losing end again, 5-4. Dayton was again outflown by the Hawks on Sunday, this time decisively with a 14-5 defeat. UD will head north on I-75 again this week, this time to play at Bowling Green. Dayton will then return home to have the Gem City Showdown with Wright State at Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons. After that, they’ll resume conference play on the road against Richmond.

Wright State 17-15 (11-1 in the Horizon League)

WSU went down to the Greater Cincinnati area to play a Tuesday game against Xavier. The Raiders met the Musketeers in Mason, Ohio, at the Joe Nuxhall Classic. Unfortunately for Wright State, they fell 4-2 to Xavier. Wright State got back to work doing what they’d been doing best so far in 2026, and that was winning Horizon League games. They won their opener at Youngstown State, 15-4, on Friday.

In the second game on Saturday, Wright State again won. This time by the score of 8-5. Wright State would complete their series sweep of YSU on Sunday with a 20-8 victory. WSU is now 11-1 in Horizon League play. On Wednesday, the Raiders will play in the Gem City clash against the Dayton Flyers at the home of the Dayton Dragons, Day Air Ballpark. They’ll then host Indiana State for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday.

Youngstown State 5-28 (3-9 in the Horizon League)

YSU’s game at Pitt was played on Wednesday this week, and it was a one-sided affair. Pitt would win in seven innings, 12-2, before the Penguins returned home to play Wright State in Youngstown. The comforts of home didn’t help YSU any, as they dropped their first game against Wright State, 15-4, on Friday. YSU’s troubles continued on Saturday, losing to Wright State again, 8-5. The Penguins were routed again on Sunday, 20-8. Youngstown State is in their fourth losing streak of the season of five games or more. YSU will play at Akron tomorrow, then will play Central Michigan on Wednesday, followed by three games at Oakland this weekend.

Ohio 7-28 (4-14 in the MAC)

OU’s week got off to a rough start. They lost to Morehead State, 10-2. This was the 16^th loss of the season in which the Bobcats allowed double-digit runs. The Bobcats bounced back on Friday on the road in a rival’s ballpark. Ohio beat Miami in Oxford to snap their four-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory!

The RedHawks struck back on Saturday, clobbering Ohio with a 15-5 win, that ended the game after only seven innings. Almost the same fate awaited OU on Sunday, losing in seven innings again, this time 17-6. Ohio has now lost eight of their last nine MAC games. OU will stay on the road this week, beginning with a game at Northern Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. They’ll then head up north for a weekend series at Central Michigan.

Kent State 25-9 (13-5 in the MAC)

KSU got their week off to a good start when they hosted MAC and Northeastern Ohio rival Akron. The 12-7 victory for the Golden Flashes put them on a five-game winning streak as they headed west to take on Northern Illinois. On Friday at NIU, Kent State saw their five-game winning streak come to an abrupt end, as NIU defeated them, 12-2. Kent State didn’t let it keep them down, though. On Saturday, the Golden Flashes got their 25^th win of the season in a back-and-forth, 9-8 win.

Sunday would see the Kent State bats go quiet again, like they did on Friday. In their two losses to NIU, Kent State would only get two runs in each game, losing 5-2 on Sunday. The Golden Flashes will play at Mercyhurst tomorrow before returning home to host three games against Ball State.          

Akron 15-20 (6-12 in the MAC)

The Zips had their schedule move around a lot this past week, including hosting West Virginia Wesleyan on Tuesday, and Kent State being moved to Wednesday. Tuesday saw a 14-4 victory for Akron, while Wednesday delivered a 12-7 defeat at the hands of Kent State. Things didn’t get any better when they went to Muncie, Indiana, to play Ball State on Friday. Ball State took game one, 13-8. The Zips made it closer on Saturday, but Ball State still won, 3-2.

Akron looked to avoid the sweep on Sunday in Muncie. In a back-and-forth game, Akron would get the win, 7-6. The Zips went 2-3 this week. On Tuesday, Akron will host Youngstown State, and they’ll then have a three-game home series against Northern Illinois this weekend.

Miami (Ohio) 22-12 (12-6 in the MAC)

The RedHawks battle Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, on Wednesday in the Joe Nuxhall Classic. It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth game, but UC would ultimately prevail, 8-7. The rough week would continue on Friday as Miami would fall to another rival by one run. This time it was the Ohio Bobcats who would defeat Miami, 7-6. Miami wouldn’t stay down, though. On Saturday, they came roaring back with a 15-5 run-rule win.

Miami came into the series deciding game on Sunday with a chance to win their fifth MAC series win of the season, out of six. Miami would wallop Ohio, 17-6 in their second straight run-rule victory. Tomorrow, the RedHawks will play Purdue on the road, and stay on the road for a weekend series up north at Toledo.

Toledo 16-19 (12-6 in the MAC)

The Rockets stumbled in a game they should have won on Tuesday. They fell at Oakland in the state up north. UT should’ve defeated the 7-19 Bears, but lost 4-2. Things didn’t improve much when they played a near in-state foe either. Dayton came to Toledo and left with a 9-5 win. The Rockets went north to play at Western Michigan, and in a close battle, came away victorious on Friday, 3-2.

WMU returned the favor on Saturday, though, beating Toledo, 8-6. The Rockets would fall again on Sunday, 6-3. Toledo lost the series to Western Michigan and limped back to the Glass City, having gone 1-3 on the week. On Tuesday, Toledo will host UM, and then Miami over the weekend.

Bowling Green 14-19 (8-10 in the MAC)

BGSU pulled off the upset on Tuesday in the state capitol. On the road in Columbus, Bowling Green cooled off the red-hot Buckeyes, snapping their seven-game winning streak with a 9-3 upset. BGSU would beat Lourdes, 13-4, on Wednesday, too! Bowling Green hosted Central Michigan on Friday. The Falcons beat CMU, 5-4, for their sixth straight win.

CMU snapped Bowling Green’s six-game winning streak on Saturday, felling the Falcons, 5-0. The weekend only got worse on Sunday as CMU crushed Bowling Green, 21-13, to take the series, 2-1. BGSU will host Dayton tomorrow, then play at Canisius on Wednesday. After that, they’ll have a weekend series against UMass.

Ohio Power Rankings

1. Kent State 25-9 (13-5 in the MAC)
2. Cincinnati 24-14 (6-9 in the Big 12)
3. Ohio State 19-15 (9-6 in the Big Ten)
4. Miami (Ohio) 22-12 (12-6 in the MAC)
5. Wright State 17-15 (11-1 in the Horizon League)
6. Xavier 16-21 (6-3 in the Big East)
7. Dayton 18-15 (5-9 in the Atlantic 10)
8. Toledo 16-19 (12-6 in the MAC)
9. Akron 15-20 (6-12 in the MAC)
10. Bowling Green 14-19 (8-10 in the MAC)
11. Ohio 7-28 (4-14 in the MAC)
12. Youngstown State 5-28 (3-9 in the Horizon League)

Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week

This week, it was Xavier’s right fielder, Clay Burdette, who stood out the most amongst Ohio’s baseball players. Xavier went 4-0 this week, and Burdette was a big reason why. Burdette had seven hits, including two doubles, three runs batted in, and three home runs this week for the X-Men.