While resilience may be one word to sum up the competitive toughness of the Buckeyes the last several weekends, head coach Greg Beals said he talks with his team a lot about one phrase: Don’t try to do too much, take what the game gives you.

Ohio State (13-7) came back from a two-run deficit - twice - to defeat Michigan (13-7) by a score of 7-4 in the first game of the weekend series. Redshirt-senior catcher Brent Todys hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh to give the Buckeyes a lead from which they never looked back.

“We preach about playing in the moment. Every moment, every opportunity, every at-bat,” Beals said. “That’s the culture that we’ve put together and have fed here, and our guys do it.”

Junior right-hander Garrett Burhenn threw five innings to start the game, allowing four runs on 10 hits while punching out six Wolverines and walking two. The win was credited to redshirt-senior righty Joe Gahm, who stopped Michigan from adding onto its two runs via home run off the bat of sophomore left fielder Tito Flores in the sixth inning.

Graduate left-hander Patrick Murphy continued to contribute superb innings in relief, tossing two scoreless innings by facing the minimum to bridge to junior right-hander TJ Brock, who allowed the Wolverines to put runners on the corners, but forced a critical double-play groundball and groundout to seal the victory in the ninth.

Five Buckeyes had multi-hit games, highlighted by freshman center fielder Kade Kern, who went 3-5 with two runs scored in the cleanup spot in the order. Todys added three RBIs on a pair of hits while redshirt-senior first baseman Conner Pohl drove in two on as many hits.

“We got some tough guys, and I think any one of us - one through nine - are capable of sparking it,” Todys said. “Whether it be zero, one or two outs, I think just this lineup is capable of just getting dangerous anytime. We’re just competing and it's getting fun.”

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Senior designated hitter Sam Wilson led off the ballgame with an opposite-field double to right field, but Michigan redshirt-sophomore left-hander Steven Hajjar retired the next seven Buckeyes batters, including four on strikes.

Errors plagued Ohio State early, and the Wolverines took advantage of one in the bottom of the second when Flores hit an RBI single with two outs to score fifth-year shortstop Benjamin Sems, who reached on a leadoff single. In total, there were five errors in the column for Ohio State at the end of the game.

Flores came through with another RBI single in the fourth inning, extending the Wolverine lead to 2-0. Ohio State had runners on the corners in the top half of the inning after Kern hit a leadoff double and advanced on senior second baseman Colton Bauer’s one-out single, but a 6-4-3 double play ended anything the Buckeyes had going.

Entering the top of the fifth with just three hits, the Buckeyes more than doubled that total as graduate left fielder Scottie Seymour, who was making his season’s first start, began things by lacing a triple into the right-center gap, just beyond the outstretched glove of Wolverines center fielder Jordan Rogers.

Junior third baseman Nick Erwin drove in Seymour on an RBI groundout to second base, then Kern tied the game with an RBI single to score Wilson, who reached on a single of his own.

Bauer’s leadoff single in the top of the sixth chased Hajjar, who ranks as MLB Pipeline’s No. 45-best prospect ahead of the 2021 draft. Michigan’s offense quickly knotted the contest as Flores pounded a two-run home run to left with two outs in the bottom half.

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The didn’t last long, though, as the Buckeyes saw Wilson reach on an error and sophomore right fielder Mitchell Okuley draw a full-count walk. After Michigan graduate righty Joe Pace recorded two outs, Pohl hit an RBI single to score Okuley, then Bauer drew a full-count walk to allow Todys to drive in the go-ahead runs on a two-run hit through the second-base hole.

Murphy came on to start the seventh, and after allowing a leadoff single to fifth-year third baseman Christian Molfetta, the left-hander retired the next six Wolverines.

The Buckeyes added two more runs of insurance as the first three hitters reached in the top of the ninth, and Pohl added another RBI single. Todys, who said he was given the safety-squeeze sign after swinging at a slider in the dirt, laid down a sacrifice bunt to push across another critical insurance run.

Brock took the mound in the bottom of the ninth, and walked Flores on a 3-1 count. Junior second baseman Riley Bertram singled to put runners on the corners, but Rogers grounded into a huge 5-4-3 double play that didn’t get the runner on third to advance. Brock forced a 5-3 groundout to end the game.

What cannot be found in a traditional box score are quality at-bats and hard-hit baseballs, and Beals was particularly proud of the numbers he kept of his team. Beals said the Buckeyes produced a .636 average of quality at-bats and .552 bat-to-ball connections that produced hard hits, or similarly, barrels.

“It’s critical that the dugout and the teammates pick guys up. You smoke a ball, you come in and you’re getting fists from everybody because we know in our hearts as hitters, that’s a win,” Beals said. “All you can do is get a good pitch to hit, rip off a good swing, hit a ball hard. Sometimes it’s at them, sometimes it’s not. But, we got to make sure we feed that. The best, by far, offensive performance we’ve had this year.”

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Ohio State left 10 runners on base as it also drew five walks - swiping one base - to keep the pressure on Michigan. The Buckeyes played six innings where they were either tied or behind in the run column, but their focus kept them from getting down.

“I mean the message doesn't ever change, whether or not who we’re playing,” Todys said. “But, it’s ‘the team up north,’ that message as well always doesn't change. We're gonna beat them; we’re gonna find a way.”

The middle game of the series will begin at noon Saturday - a change from the schedule due to impending weather. Redshirt-junior left-handed pitcher Seth Lonsway will make his first start for Ohio State since his 17-strikeout, 7-inning complete game in Game 1 against Indiana April 3. The Wolverines will counter with sophomore right-hander Cameron Weston, who owns a 3-1 record with a 3.99 ERA.