Ohio saw its matchup with No. 9 Kentucky as an opportunity to see where it stacked up against the best teams in the country.
The Bobcats (3-11) fell to the Wildcats (14-2) 6-3 on the road, but were happy with the effort they put forth and felt they outplayed the Wildcats for the majority of the game.
“Kentucky was the ninth-ranked team in the nation and we were able to play with them,” senior third baseman Ben Otto said. “I think that says a lot about where we’re at right now as a team.”
Early in the game, it appeared the Bobcats were headed toward a blowout, as junior starting pitcher Sean Kennedy gave up seven hits, four walks and six runs in only 2.2 innings, continuing Ohio’s trend of putting itself in a hole early.
But Ohio locked in after spotting the Wildcats the early lead.
The bullpen kept them in the game, shutting out Kentucky for the final 5.1 innings of the game, only allowing two hits, two walks and striking out five.
Junior pitcher Brad Przebieda, who pitched three innings, stopped the bleeding early on, relieving Kennedy in the bottom of the third and escaping from a situation with runners on the corners. Senior Brett Barber and sophomore Logan Cozart also added 2.1 innings of scoreless work
“Our pitchers did a nice job of holding Kentucky’s offense down and gave our hitters a chance to put some runs on the board,” coach Rob Smith said. “They did their job of holding the score where it was.”
Przebieda, who made only his second pitching appearance of the season on Tuesday, said he attacked Kentucky’s lineup like any other team.
“You have the same mindset as a pitcher,” he said. “You want to throw strikes, you want to pound the zone, you want to pick and choose when you can throw in to guys or away from guys.
“It’s not so much that they’re the No. 9 team in the country, it’s just the mindset that pitchers have to have each and every single day, every batter that they face.”
The offense got started in the fourth inning, when junior left fielder Scott White singled in sophomore center fielder Tyler Wells.
Ohio cut Kentucky’s lead to three two innings later, as Otto ripped a bases-loaded single into left field, plating sophomore first baseman Jake Madsen and sophomore designated hitter Cody Gaertner.
Smith was happy with the offensive production today, but was hesitant to say Ohio’s bats were gaining consistency.
“I’m not ready to say it’s a turnaround, because we’ve had days where we’ve put up lots of hits,” Smith said. “Our biggest issue hasn’t been our ability to just hit the ball, but to generate the consistency to do it on a game to game basis.I hope we can carry a little bit more of this into the weekend, and not have the offensive fluctuation that we’ve had.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
