Entering on a season-high 5-game losing streak, the Buckeyes will look to rekindle the magic they left at Bill Davis Stadium and remain in the hunt atop the Big Ten Conference.

Ohio State was swept in three games at Maryland last weekend and dropped the last two games of the series at Michigan a week prior. With his team now 13-12 and tied for fifth in the standings, junior shortstop Zach Dezenzo said starting the series with Penn State on the right foot will be key to trending back in the right direction.

“It all starts in our preparation, the week leading up to the weekend,” Dezenzo said Sunday. “I think it's about coming out, setting the tone on Friday night and making a statement for the weekend. I think that's huge.”

The Buckeyes are 4-3 this season in weekend-opening ballgames, and have gone 3-1 in their last four series-openers.

“I think when you get that first game under your belt, it’s a huge momentum boost leading into the following two days,” Dezenzo said. “So, I think that's going to be important for us moving forward in the following weeks to come, especially this weekend.”

Penn State was swept at home last week against top-team Nebraska, comprising a 4-game losing streak of its own. The Nittany Lions are 8-16 this season, second-to-last in the Big Ten.

Both on the mound and at the plate, the Nittany Lions have produced some middling results. Their team .259 batting average is sixth-best in the conference while Penn State’s pitching staff owns a 5.45 earned-run average, just one spot lower than Ohio State’s 4.82 ERA in seventh.

The Nittany Lions have made 35 errors in the field, contributing to their .960 fielding percentage.

Mistakes in the field have extended innings for Penn State, and of late, free passes have done the same for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes pitching staff has walked at least five batters in each of their five losses, and hit at least two batters and threw three wild pitches against the Terrapins last weekend.

“We just got to play in the moment. You can’t let one roll into another,” head coach Greg Beals said. “You got to play the moment, play one batter, one pitch at a time. It sounds cliche-ish, but it’s exactly what needs to happen in order to compete successfully is to be able to separate from one to the next and be your best in each individual moment.”

Redshirt-junior left-hander Seth Lonsway added to his conference-leading strikeout total in last Saturday's 5-4 extra-innings loss. Lonsway punched out 11 Terrapins over six innings, and allowed just two hits in that span.

The Buckeyes have managed to limit base hits, however. Lonsway and junior righty Jack Neely both own .200 or lower opponent batting-averages, and are tied for the second-fewest hits allowed this season with 20 apiece.

Ohio State's offense has held its own and challenged opposing pitchers, but have had a tough go at getting its baserunners around to score.

The Buckeyes left 20 runners on base against Maryland, and struck out at least eight times in each of the three games.

“Offensively, we just couldn't quite get it going until the later parts of the game,” Dezenzo said. “Just kind of giving away some at bats early, and Maryland capitalized on those. Give them some credit here.”

Dezenzo bashed three doubles last weekend while redshirt-senior first baseman Conner Pohl and sophomore outfielder Mitchell Okuley left the yard. Pohl leads Ohio State with seven home runs and Okuley is behind him with six.

Freshman outfielder Kade Kern has continued scorching college pitching. Kern collected five more hits, and is tied for fourth in the Big Ten for bas knocks with 32.

"He prepares himself and goes out and plays," Beals said. "You keep doing the same thing, and that’s something that we believe in, and it’s really fun to see a kid at this young age, at this early in his time here at Ohio State accept that mindset of being process-driven and just competing."

Ohio State will set out to take on Penn State Friday at 6:05 p.m.

Junior right-handed pitcher Garrett Burhenn is listed as the Buckeyes’ probable starter on the mound, and will contest Nittany Lions junior right-hander Bailey Dees, who is 2-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 37 ⅓ innings.