The third and final strike breezed past Nebraska freshman second baseman Brice Matthews for the last out of the bottom of the first inning on Sunday, and Buckeyes junior right-handed pitcher Will Pfennig trotted off the mound toward the first base dugout.

Pfennig had been touched up for back-to-back leadoff Huskers hits before allowing two runs to open the last game of the weekend. Junior righty Bayden Root approached Pfennig once he reached the dugout and told his teammate “team’s got your back, we’re in this.”

The next five innings were hitless, perfect frames from Pfennig after he said he felt in control once he received support from his Buckeyes teammates.

“The first inning was a little rough, but I felt like I was making good pitches on balls they hit. I felt in control the whole entire time,” Pfennig said Sunday. “The first inning happened, but I still felt like I had really good control of my pitches and I still felt in control, so after the first inning I felt I really locked in. I thought I made good pitches.”

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The righty didn’t allow another run and scattered five hits across 6.2 innings, and said he was most proud of the fact he didn’t issue a single free pass.

Head coach Greg Beals said the decision to lift Pfennig with two outs in the seventh inning came after some deliberation.

“We had guys behind [starting pitchers] that didn’t pitch on the weekend that we had confidence in, and we just felt like Will had done his job and it was time to go get him some help,” Beals said. “His pitch count was at 90, which is more than he’s been at but he was pitching so cleanly and efficiently that allowed us to ride him. Pretty much from the fifth inning on, we were like ‘Okay, Will’s got us to where we needed him to get us to.’ He was in such command of the game.”

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Even though Pfennig didn’t earn the win after Nebraska tied the game later in the seventh, that didn’t stop the pitcher from earning Beals’ kudos.

“He was grinding and ready to go this weekend,” Beals said. “In the first inning, maybe just came out a little too hot trying to do a little too much and the ball flattened out and stayed in the middle of the zone more. Then Will goes five hitless to settle this game down and give our ball club a chance. He commanded the fastball from the second inning on and and threw a lot of fastballs and we beat in their bat and was able to pitch it in and out. Just was really effective with his fastball.”

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Sunday’s efficient start was a good sign for Pfennig, who said he underwent a knee procedure at the end of the 2020 season to clean up a nagging patella tendon of which he partially tore at the end of his freshman campaign.

“This past offseason was actually really important for me,” Pfennig said. “Coming back from that was really important trying to get my knee back under me and my legs back under me and come back 100% healthy. I spent the entire offseason doing that, trying to rehab and get back to full strength.”

Pfennig’s first start of the season March 7 didn’t go as well in which he allowed five runs over four innings against Illinois. He allowed just four hits, but walked three more and two bases were stolen.

The bounceback start was arguably among the best of Ohio State starting pitchers in Minneapolis. Pfennig’s outing was 0.2 more than redshirt-junior left-hander Seth Lonsway’s six-inning performance in Game 1 Friday, with a difference being that the former received run support whereas the Buckeyes were shut out during the latter’s day of work.

Because the righty resides in a rotation alongside Lonsway, junior RHP Garrett Burhenn, senior LHP Griffan Smith and Texas-transfer junior RHP Jack Neely, Pfennig’s name may stand to get lost in the numbers. However, that doesn't matter to Pfennig. He trusts himself.

“I think when I get the ball, I’m very, very confident in myself,” Pfennig said. “I think I’m one of those guys that no matter what, I want the ball at that time; I have full faith and trust in myself. All the pitchers are amazing, and so it gives me a lot of confidence about the guys behind me. I would say that I don’t throw the hardest and I don’t have the best breaking ball or anything, but I think I can put it together well and I got a lot of trust in myself.”

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The Mason, Ohio, native offers a changeup and curveball alongside his fastball, which reportedly can reach 90 miles per hour. Pfennig said he absorbs information from many of the arms in the Ohio State pitching staff, and has taken an interest in Root’s cutter, of which he called more a “cutter-kind of slider.”

In his future starts, Pfennig aims to mix his pitches up and begin introducing more off-speed offerings.

"I think what I need to improve on is getting my other pitchers in my arsenal in the mix," Pfennig said. "I threw mostly fastball-slider, and I know that I can throw my curveball and changeup for strikes, too. I think something I definitely need to improve on and going to try to do more is mix in my other two pitches."

The Buckeyes' starting pitching has been expected to be among the key cogs of the roster as the 2021 season unfolds. As it stands, the average ERA among the four starters sits at an unfavorable 6.73, but is almost sure to improve as each find their groove on the mound.

Pfennig will continue to establish his efficiency when attacking hitters on the mound. He'll likely hear his name called to make his third start of the season for Ohio State when it travels for the first true-road conference series this weekend at Rutgers.