Despite winter weather forcing a last-minute cancellation of the Georgia Invitational, Ohio will still compete on the diamond this weekend and head to Jacksonville, Fla. for the fourth-annual Osprey Invitational.
The Bobcats will play four games against North Florida, Southern Illinois, Savannah State and Troy.
Although there was a late schedule change, coach Jodi Hermanek remains focused on the Bobcats playing their game and continuing to follow their style of play.
“We are focused on getting an opposition in the other dugout and playing the best game we can possibly play,” Hermanek said. “We evened out our game, we aren’t stressing about those things, those things are gonna come with more reps and opportunities, we are going to continue to stay loose and play loose.”
Sophomore pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey led Ohio in the circle last weekend, as she struck out 28 batters, but is continuing to focus on her mental preparation.
“Most of it is mental, the routine before is really helpful, it starts when you wake up with in the morning then when we warm up with the catchers we stay relaxed and tend not to focus on the opponent,” Dorsey said.
Offensively, freshman Madison Claytor finished last weekend with a .400 batting average along with a home run and five RBIs.
“We have scouting reports on the pitchers and it gives us an idea on what their go to pitchers are, but then when we come into the cages,” she said. “It’s about being relaxed and having confidence in your swing.”
Host team North Florida (4-1) played in the Troy Subway Invitational to open its season and its only loss came against No. 6 Alabama. The Ospreys scored more than two runs just once, but their pitching staff collected 37 strikeouts. Cortney Radke led the way with 15+ innings pitched, as she struck out 19 and allowed just one earned run.
Southern Illinois (2-2) has a pair of players that earned preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades with infielder Jayana Spivey and outfielder Meredith Wilson.
Savannah State (3-1) hosted the Savannah State Tournament last weekend when it scored at least six runs in three of its four games. The Tigers have the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rookie of the year in third baseman Torrian Wright.
Troy (2-2-1) earned both of their wins by shutouts and enacted the mercy rule against Memphis. Troy also tied Auburn 5-5 and lost to Northwestern State and Alabama.
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