AVON, Ohio — The Ohio baseball team arrived at the Mid-American Conference tournament Tuesday hauling a season’s worth of weight on its shoulders.
A day later, the Bobcats retreated to their hotel with more pressure ahead. Ohio had just fallen to Western Michigan 4-2 and had only 24 hours to prep for its next opponent in the double-elimination tourney.
“The game is over with,” said Ohio coach Joe Carbone. “There’s no use rehashing the loss. We’re going to just get out there and get ready for the next one.”
That next one is Buffalo, who lost to top-seeded Kent State in the late game on Wednesday.
Putting a loss behind them is an easy pill to swallow when the game is one of the season’s ugliest.
The Bobcats (28-28) came out to a sluggish start for the 9 a.m. game, but were met by a similarly inactive Bronco (26-27) squad.
The teams combined for five hits in the first three innings.
Then, like the flip of a switch — or the jolt of a high fastball — both teams sprang to life once the clock hit 10 a.m.
Ohio struck first, cashing in on a tactically sound walk, bunt and single combination that culminated when senior right fielder Jensen Painter tapped home for the game’s first run.
But, from that point on, it was Western Michigan’s time to shine.
Although the Broncos’ 10 hits were double Ohio’s total, it wasn’t their offensive punch that did the Bobcats in.
The Bobcats tallied five errors, the most since April 8, when they racked up a season-high six gaffes against Northern Illinois.
Painter credited senior starting pitcher Brent Choban with a very good performance and said the team was not strong enough behind him.
“Everyone always says defense wins championships, so we need to come out here tomorrow and play better defense,” he said.
The extra errors could be attributed to All Pro Freight Stadium’s unfamiliar synthetic playing surface, but the Bobcats were quick to brush that excuse aside.
Choban (7-6), who allowed three earned runs in 8-2/3 innings, was outdueled by Western Michigan’s Casey Webber (5-5), who relinquished only five hits in one less inning of work.
Carbone was quick to praise Webber, but said Choban was efficient enough to place the Bobcats in the winner’s bracket.
“I thought Choban pitched pretty well,” Carbone said. “He didn’t get hit hard at all. There were only a couple hits that landed right on the foul line.”
For Choban to have the opportunity to toe the rubber again, Ohio will have to win three consecutive games.
That’s not out of the question if the Bobcats find a way to cut down on their mistakes.
They swept the Bulls in three close games in late April, but too many miscues would send Ohio home for good.
“It would mean everything,” Choban said about having another shot on the mound. “I’m a senior, and if I get out there Saturday, we have a chance at winning the whole thing ... We have to keep our heads up and work on just minimizing some things and putting the ball in play.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
