Offensive struggles contributed to Ohio’s third conference series defeat of the season
The Fall Out Boy lyrics “sugar, we’re going down swinging” rang through Bob Wren Stadium with Ohio trailing by seven runs in the sixth inning Sunday.
For the Bobcats on Friday and Sunday, words from the 2005 pop song couldn’t have depicted their offense more accurately.
Ohio lost Sunday’s rubber match 11-1 to Bowling Green — after losing 4-2 on Friday and winning Saturday 8-7 — significantly based on its inability to develop offensive momentum.
“It’s hard to get into a rhythm when you’re behind in games (by a lot) and not getting any runners on,” said sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo. “(Saturday) we had guys in scoring position a lot, and it was easy to get into a rhythm of guys getting hit after hit.”
Ohio’s hitting performance Saturday showed a similar amount of run production as the beginning of the year, when it averaged more than 10 runs per game through the first seven games.
Saturday’s dramatic 8-7 walkoff win, which included a three-run rally in the ninth inning, featured 14 base hits and seven walks.
Friday and Sunday were much different stories for Ohio hitters. The Bobcats (19-14, 6-6 Mid-American Conference) totaled just three runs on 10 hits and five walks in those games and finished on the losing end of both matches.
Sunday’s 11-1 defeat was particularly disheartening for the Bobcats, who had a chance to defeat the Falcons (11-19, 5-7 MAC) in a series for the first time since 2011.
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With Ohio down 4-0 in the second inning, sophomore infielder Tyler Finkler had the bases loaded with two outs, but he flew out to end the chance. The Bobcats scored their only run in the ninth inning when they faced an 11-run deficit.
“I thought we had some decent at-bats at times but just couldn’t make anything happen,” coach Rob Smith said. He noted that Ohio had a lot of hard-hit balls but was unable to find the holes in Bowling Green’s defense.
Smith also said baseball is a game that sometimes requires a short memory.
“We can hit, and we’ve proved we can hit,” Longo said, adding Sunday’s game didn’t truly reflect the team’s offensive abilities.
Longo brought a .367 average into the weekend against Bowling Green, but even he had a setback on Sunday.
He got six hits in 10 at-bats with five RBIs through the first two games of the series but was replaced for senior infielder Tirey Burch in the ninth inning Sunday when the game was well out of reach.
Burch singled to left field in what was just his third at-bat of the season before scoring the lone run. Longo, on the other hand, finished 0-for-3 and saw his 11-game hitting streak come to an end.
“I’m not really about the individual accolades at this point,” Longo said. “I wish we would’ve won, but at the same time, (Burch) did his job, and if I was in his position I would’ve tried to do the same thing as well.”
@JordanHorrobin
