Tuesday afternoon’s scheduled game between the Ohio State baseball team and Toledo was canceled because of inclement weather, increasing the season total to seven canceled games.
The grounds crew worked to ready the field for about a half-hour past noon, the scheduled start time. But with more rain projected to come later in the afternoon, the game was called and will not be rescheduled.
This was the last time the Buckeyes would have played on the grass at Bill Davis Stadium. This summer, synthetic turf will be installed.
The non-conference matchup would have had little effect on the Buckeyes’ effort to clinch a berth in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. The top six teams earn a spot in the tournament, which will be held from May 25–28 at Huntington Park. OSU is 11-10 in conference play, 23-24 overall, in a three-way tie for fourth place with Indiana and Purdue. Michigan State leads the pack, followed by Minnesota and Illinois tied for second.
Coach Greg Beals did not let the team take a day off. The Buckeyes used a brief break in the rain to take the field for infield practice after the game was called.
The Buckeyes travel to Minnesota (20-20, 12-9) for a three-game series to finish the regular season. They will play a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. Thursday and also play a 7:05 p.m. game Friday.
OSU likely would need to win two of three games against the Gophers to lock up in a chance to play at the conference tournament, but there still are plenty of scenarios in which they could clinch a spot with one or no wins.
