Looking for positives after a three-game sweep at the hands of Central Michigan, Ohio coach Rob Smith looked to his starting pitchers.
Starting the season with uncertainty as to who would be the Bobcats’ three weekend starters, Smith said that solid pitching performances by freshmen Jake Roehn and Jake Rudnicki and sophomore Connor Sitz over the weekend secured them spots as weekend regulars.
“We’re starting to figure out that I do believe we have three starting pitchers that give us a chance,” Smith said. “Jake Roehn wasn’t super sharp, but he’s pitched some really good games this year. Jake Rudnicki was really good on Saturday, I thought. Connor Sitz does what he does and that’s keeping you in the game.”
Rudnicki, who hails from Toledo, leads the staff with a 3.24 ERA in 25 innings pitched, and Sitz, a Westerville product, sports almost a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
Roehn has been the Friday starter, which in major league terms, means he’s the Bobcats’ No. 1 starter. The Sandwich, Ill. native has performed admirably in his first season, striking out 30 batters in 31.1 innings.
“Being the guy on Friday, it’s an honor,” Roehn said. “But realistically, every guy on the staff is as important as each other, whether it’s Friday, Saturday or Sunday.”
Last season, it was another freshman — Jake Miller — taking those Friday starts. Despite a season of improved expectations, Miller, now a sophomore, has struggled. He has a 12.89 ERA in 14.2 innings and has allowed 26 hits and 12 walks with only 13 strikeouts.
“We’re trying to get Jake figured out,” Smith said. “We’re just kind of waiting for him to get back into the form that he had last year. He’s just maybe going through a little bit of that sophomore slump, and he’s just got to find a rhythm.”
Injuries take their toll
The Bobcats appeared to have a foundation set for the future and a strong spring season after a lowly 14-39 finish last season. But injuries wreaked havoc on the Bobcats in the offseason and shifted what would have been a lineup with balance and experience into one with that is filled with youth and question marks.
At the end of last season, here’s an approximate look at what Ohio’s lineup could have looked like in 2014:
Position/ Player/ 2013 Batting Average, On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage
C: Junior Cody Gaertner (.278/.345/.364)
1B: Junior Jake Madsen (.326/.376/.434)
2B: Redshirt junior Garrett Black (.231/.286/.269)
3B: Sophomore John Adryan (.244/.308/.267)
SS: Sophomore Nate Squires (.277/.369/.285)
OF: Junior Scott White (.272/.340/.336)
OF: Sophomore Nick Squires (.276/.370/.331)
OF: Freshman Mitch Longo (.540/.610/N/A)*
DH: Junior Brice Nikithser (.194/.257/.299)
Backup C: Senior Kyle Dean (.216/.320/.314)
*at Mayfield High School, according to Cleveland.com.
But with Gaertner, Nikithser and the Squires twins all being declared out for the season before it even began because of injury, the lineup already lost four of its regulars.
Pair that with Black missing the first month of the season and replacement catcher Dean going down with an injury after the opening series this season, and this group has a total of 109 games lost on the year.
That has thrust seven freshmen into starting position player roles during different points of the season.
The Bobcats were set to take the field against Eastern Kentucky on the road Tuesday, but the game was canceled because of bad weather. Ohio will be in action next against Youngstown State, the winner of only one of its last 10 games, at home Wednesday.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
@c_hoppens
