The Bobcats earned their first shutout in almost three years with a 6-0 win over the Colonels.
Almost 40 games into its season, Ohio is still nowhere near identifying an ace in its pitching staff.
But for the time being, that doesn’t seem to matter.
Ohio used six productive relief pitchers and an efficient offensive effort to shut out Eastern Kentucky 6-0 Tuesday night at Bob Wren Stadium.
It was the Bobcats’ first shutout since an 11-0 rout of Bowling Green on April 29, 2012.
Ohio (23-15, 8-7 Mid-American Conference) kept the Colonels off the scoreboard by allowing only five hits and two hit batsmen, while striking out seven and walking none.
Ohio coach Rob Smith called his club’s effort a “team win” and was most impressed with his pitching staff’s ability to control the strike zone.
“When you do that, you’re always going to put yourself in a position to win a game by forcing the other team to swing the bat,” Smith said.
Freshman right-hander Logan Jacik made his first career start for the Bobcats, allowing one hit in two innings while striking out two.
“He’s a very mature pitcher for his age,” senior relief pitcher Spencer Sapp said of Jacik. “He’s got really good stuff, and he gets out there...He showed confidence today.”
Sapp came into the game in the third inning and continued to shut down Eastern Kentucky (14-22, 7-10 Ohio Valley Conference) by allowing one hit in 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts. Sapp was also credited with the win, his first of the season in 14 relief appearances.
“It was a lot of fun to be a part of that,” said Sapp, who is hoping the dominant performance by the pitchers will earn them a batting practice session Wednesday.
Ohio was held hitless through the first two innings, but got the offense started in the third.
Senior second basemen David Hamlett led off with a single up the middle and came around to score on a double by junior centerfielder Manny De Jesus. Then sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo, with two strikes on him, hit the ball hard on the ground to score De Jesus and give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Senior first basemen and cleanup hitter Jake Madsen added cushion in the fifth inning with a three-run blast over the right-field wall, his first home run of the season.
Longo’s hustle on a wild pitch in the seventh inning gave Ohio a 6-0 lead and rounded out the scoring.
Despite only connecting on seven hits, the Bobcats were able to squeeze out six runs while their pitching staff completely shut down the Colonels.
Though Ohio has won most of its games on pure offense rather than stingy defense, Smith thinks his team’s abilities are starting to balance out.
“I certainly want us to be as offensive as we can be, but hitting is really an up and down part of the game. The part I really want to see start to get better as the year goes on is our pitching and defense,” Smith said. “I think we’re starting to see some areas where that’s happening, and today was a good example of that.”
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