Buckeyes Drop Series Finale to No. 1 Bruins

Sunday, March 8

Columbus, Ohio

1:00 P.M.

Ohio State

5-9, 0-3

UCLA

13-2, 3-0

UCLA

Ohio State

Buckeyes Drop Series Finale to No. 1 Bruins

3/8/2026 6:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (5-9, 0-3 Big Ten) was defeated by No. 1 UCLA (13-2, 3-0 Big Ten), 10-7, Sunday in the teams' series finale at Bill Davis Stadium.

Game Recap

Pierce Herrenbruck got the start in the mound for the Buckeyes and struck out four Bruins in the first two innings.
Ohio State struck first. In the bottom of the third inning, CJ Reid led off with a walk and then Miles Vandenheuvel reached base on a UCLA error. Noah Furcht singled to right field, scoring Reid from second. Henry Kaczmar brought in Vandenheuvel on a single down the left field line and a sacrifice bunt by Lee Ellis scored Furcht. Mason Eckelman worked a full-count walk and then Dane Harvey sent a double to the right field gap, plating Kaczmar and Eckelman and giving the Buckeyes a 5-0 lead.
Reid led off with a ground-rule double to right center in the bottom of the fourth inning and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt, but he was left stranded.
UCLA tied the game, 5-5, in the top of the fifth inning, scoring on two RBI singles and a three-RBI double.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Eckelman reached base on a fielder's choice, Alex Bemis walked and Harvey singled to right field to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Maddix Simpson scored Eckelman to put the Buckeyes back in the lead, 6-5.
The Bruins took their first lead of the day, 8-6, n the top of the eighth inning after a two-run home run and a bases-loaded walk.
Vandenheuvel and Kaczmar both singled in the eighth, but the Buckeyes were not able to capitalize.
UCLA extended its lead to 10-6 in the top of the ninth inning after an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the ninth, Bemis, Harvey and Simpson hit consecutive singles to load the bases. A double from Vandenheuvel sent Bemis home to cut the UCLA lead to three, 10-7, with two outs on board, but the Bruins got the final out and came away with the win and the series sweep.

Buckeyes by the Numbers

The game was the Buckeyes' longest of the season, going for four hours and 23 minutes.
Harvey led the Buckeyes with three hits, which is a career-high, and two RBIs.
Owen Graf (0-1) took the loss. He gave up three runs on one hit in less than one inning pitched.
Herrenbruck struck out a career-high five and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits in 4.1 innings tossed.

Up Next