After its four-game sweep of Toledo and Bowling Green this past weekend, Ohio has jumped out to a commanding lead in the Mid-American Conference East Division.
And with targets on their backs, they now have a weekend road trip that pairs them with their Battle of the Bricks rival and the top team in the MAC West.
“It’s a challenge anytime you go on the road and enter someone else’s domain,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “They’re both good teams that have taken away games from other schools in our conference.”
On Friday, Ohio will play a doubleheader against Miami, a team that has struggled and has lost four of its past five.
“I think we’re on a good page after getting four wins and the sweep,” sophomore shortstop Amanda Dalton said. “That pretty much fueled the fire for us to go in and play our rival, Miami.”
Ohio will then travel to Muncie, Ind., to wrap the weekend with Saturday and Sunday games against Ball State.
But even though everyone else is after the Bobcats, Hermanek believes there’s nothing special and no added pressure; it’s just about beating their rival and then finishing the weekend strong.
“I don’t really look at it as pressure,” Hermanek said. “People want to beat you no matter what. Every game matters. We just need to go out there and focus on us.”
On paper, Ohio’s toughest matchup this weekend will be Ball State, which is coming into the weekend with momentum after winning four of its past five games, including wins over Big Ten schools Purdue and Indiana.
Ball State will host Akron in a doubleheader Friday before the weekend matchups with Ohio.
“We want to take the momentum of last week with us,” Hermanek said. “But we don’t want to overlook anyone. We just need to work hard on our mission.”
Sophomore pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey, Ohio’s ace pitcher, laughed off any doubts about not being successful this weekend.
“Do I look worried?” she said, smiling. “I’m confident. It’s personal because it’s Ohio and Miami, but we’re psyched about ourselves and we’re confident we can succeed.”
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Up Next
What: Ohio (23-17, 8-2 MAC) at Miami (17-20, 5-5 MAC)
When: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Friday
Where: Oxford
