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Ohio State baseball looks to bounce back in weekend series at Penn State

Plus, Buckeye softball is headed to Northwestern and another big weekend for OSU tennis.

By Alexis Chassen

The Buckeye baseball team is looking to better their Big Ten record this weekend, with a three-game series, on the road against Penn State. The Ohio State softball team pulled off a 3-0 sweep over the Nittany Lions last weekend, and now it’ll be the baseball team’s turn to add some conference wins to their record.

A week after dropping a road series at Iowa, the Buckeyes stand at 21-10 on the season and 3-3 in Big Ten play. Going .500 in-conference isn’t great, but it’s definitely better than the eight games in a row that Penn State has lost leading up to this matchup. The Nittany Lions hold a 7-19 record on the season, 1-8 within the conference.

History is on Ohio State’s side in this series, with the Buckeyes leading the all-time series, 66-36, and having won the last 7-of-8 meetings between the teams. The Buckeyes didn’t pull off a 3-0 sweep during their 2017 matchup, but are looking to go undefeated this time around.

To follow along to the this weekend series:

“It’s a quick turnaround for No. 22 Ohio State as it prepares to head to Northwestern for a weekend series.”

-Ohio State Athletics

The Buckeye softball team only had one full day between their double-header against Penn State on Wednesday, and their first matchup of a three-game weekend series with Northwestern on Friday. That might not be a bad thing though, with Ohio State routing the Nittany Lions in both mid-week games, and hoping to carry that momentum with them as the get back on the road.

Northwestern is 23-13 overall so far this season, and is 6-5 in Big Ten play heading into the weekend meeting. The Wildcats were able to claim 1-of-3 games last weekend against Purdue, but are hoping to get back to the basics against the Buckeyes. These two teams have met 99 times, with Northwestern leading the all-time series, 35-61-3 -- this matchup marks the first time they’ll face each other in the regular season since 2015. The teams did meet in the postseason in 2016, with the Wildcats besting the Buckeyes 3-1 in the Big Ten Tournament that year.

To follow along with this Big Ten matchup:

The Buckeyes won’t get much of a break following the weekend series, with their next matchup on their home turf against Ohio University, Tuesday, Apr. 17 at 5 p.m. ET.

The No. 3 Ohio State men’s tennis team will have their hands full this weekend, when they play host to the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday and unranked Northwestern on Sunday.

The Buckeyes and Illini will battle it out, for the top spot in the Big Ten, with only one team remaining undefeated in the conference once the matchup is over. Ohio State is currently on a 10-game winning streak, with a 22-2 record for the season, and 7-0 record in the Big Ten — tied with Illinois for the top spot in the conference. During their 10-game run, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 51-11.

Illinois on the other hand is 16-5 on the season, with four of their five losses coming against top-10 programs (North Carolina, Wake Forest, UCLA, and Stanford). The Illini’s best win the season came against No. 11 ranked Michigan — who sits tied at No. 2 in the Big Ten with Minnesota at 5-2. They might not have the same type of momentum heading into this matchup as the Buckeyes, but Illinois does lead the all-time series between the two schools, 47-53-1.

Sunday’s opponent for the Buckeyes is the Northwestern Wildcats, who are 9-12 on the season, and 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have only face four ranked teams so far this season, but haven’t managed to snag an upset win just yet. Ohio State leads this all-time series, with a 49-43 record over Northwestern.

Both matchups will begin at Noon ET on their respective days.

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