Ohio State has completed the improbable run through the Big Ten Baseball Tournament by beating Nebraska 3-1 to claim its tenth conference championship. That ties Minnesota for the most of any Big Ten program.
It was a close game throughout with both pitching staffs scattering hits and making pitches and plays when needed. Ohio State just made a few more on the offensive end when it mattered most.
The Buckeyes got things started with a run in the top of the 1st inning — and as usual — leadoff hitter Dominic Canzone was right in the thick of things. He led the game off with a single through the middle, then came home on a Brady Cherry RBI single to make it 1-0.
OSU got one more run in the top of the 4th inning on a sacrifice fly but it wasn’t without controversy. Brent Todys was originally called out on the play at home, but a challenge review revealed a missed tag by the ‘Husker catcher, the play was reversed and the Buckeyes went up 2-0.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher Griffan Smith was dealing on the mound. He kept a hot-hitting Nebraska team at bay through 5.2 innings. He gave up just one run (unearned), and then handed things off to stud reliever Andrew Magno to shut the door.
Magno came in and walked a run in with two outs to make it 2-1 in the top of the 6th inning, but from there he was dynamite and was one of the big reasons why Ohio State made the run through the tourney.
OSU capped it off with an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning for the final score of 3-1. And now, your Ohio State Buckeyes are Big Ten Tournament Champions!
