Coming off a disappointing series loss, Ohio heads to Youngstown State for a game against the Penguins.
Yogi Berra once said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.”
When Ohio (19-14, 6-6 in Mid-American Conference) travels to Youngstown State on Tuesday, they will have to correct 140 percent of their game.
The Bobcats are coming off a disappointing two-loss series to Bowling Green, in which they lacked production in all facets of their game.
With the exception of Saturday’s walk-off victory, Ohio’s bats struggled to get anything going. On Friday and Sunday, the Bobcats scored a combined three runs.
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“I think we pressed a little bit too much,” sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo said. “We got behind in the counts a little bit. We hit the ball and sometimes it just didn’t fall. Look what (Bowling Green) did. We probably hit the ball harder than they did, it’s just that the ball wasn’t dropping.”
Youngstown State also struggled with hitting during its past series against Wright State. They were outscored 27-7 in the series loss.
This season the Penguins (9-20, 4-11 Horizon League) are batting .248, whereas the Bobcats are batting .285. Ohio’s starting pitchers will look to take advantage of Youngstown State’s weak hitting in Tuesday’s matchup.
For a portion of the season, Ohio has pitched by committee, sometimes using a pitcher per inning. This weekend some good starts — including a quality start from Jake Miller — allowed the bullpen to get some rest.
Friday evening, Miller, a junior, pitched six innings, allowing eight hits, three runs (two earned), and struck out six batters in a 4-2 loss.
“We got some good starts last week,” coach Rob Smith said. “We were hoping to repeat that. Jake (Miller) gave us a quality start, but these past two weren’t working for us. That area has been a tough situation for us so we’re going to try and figure out some options.”
Logan Cozart, who has pitched in relief, has statistically been Ohio’s best pitcher this season. In 17 appearances, he has a 1.89 ERA and a 4-1 record. He earned the victory in the second game of the series against Bowling Green.
Cozart, a senior, leads the team in ERA, opposing batting average (1.78), saves (six), and strikeouts (45).
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Ohio’s last win against Youngstown State came in 2012, when the Bobcats defeated them 8-3 in Youngstown. The Bobcats have let up double-digit runs in both of its last two matchups against the Penguins, where Ohio lost 11-4 in 2014 and 20-15 in 2013.
Smith hopes his team will shake off the recent memories of defeat and head to Youngstown with a positive outlook.
Smith said pitching will be a huge factor in the afternoon game.
“We’ve just got to continue to improve on the mound,” Smith said. “That’s a big piece. Hitting is up and down. You can’t expect your offense to score seven, eight, or nine runs a game. You have to develop your team so they can win a 4-3 game.”
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