Tyler Wells’ RBI single in the ninth seals 1-0 win, preserves pitching gem
Some games have the ability to define a team’s season and its mentality.
The Ohio's 1-0 win over Mid-American Conference rival Akron, in walk-off fashion, could very well be that game.
The Bobcats broke through the scoreless game with a one-out single in the ninth inning by senior outfielder Tyler Wells to take game one of a three-game home series against the Zips.
Senior Jake Madsen led off the ninth with a scorching comebacker to the pitcher that ricocheted away and earned him a single. Then with one out, right-handed batter John Adryan came to the plate and Akron pulled its left-handed starting pitcher.
John Valek, Akron’s starter, pitched a dominant 8 1/3 innings in which he allowed just five hits and one walk to the Bobcats.
“They could’ve brought anybody in as long as he was getting out,” Ohio coach Rob Smith said. “We were kind of joking in the dugout, ‘Bring in Roger Clemens, that’s fine, just get this kid out of here and get on to somebody else.’”
Adryan hit a hard grounder that was bobbled by the Zips’ shortstop, which gave Ohio runners on first and second.
It was the third error for Akron in the final two innings of the game and it proved to be costly.
Wells, who entered the ninth inning 0-for-3, pulled a single through the hole on the left side of the infield to score Madsen and give Ohio (24-15, 9-7 MAC) an important conference win.
“That’s always huge,” Wells said of winning the Friday game of a series. “It takes a lot of pressure off your starting pitchers for the next two days. It puts the pressure on them and we can just come out here and play our game.”
Junior right-hander Jake Miller had a stellar start for the Bobcats, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up six hits and two walks while striking out four.
Miller cruised through the first six innings of play, including three 1-2-3 innings. In that time, he did not allow an Akron runner past second base.
The seventh inning, however, is when Miller ran into some trouble. He gave up three consecutive one-out singles to load the bases, which caused Smith to go to senior Logan Cozart in the bullpen.
“He’s a bulldog out there,” Smith said of Cozart. “He’s worked extra hard in the weight room and he’s really the grit and the soul of our team. I think the guys know that and there’s no one they’d rather have on the mound in that situation.”
Cozart immediately took control, fanning both Akron batters he faced to end the threat and keep the game scoreless. He would ultimately earn the win with an outing of 2 2/3 innings in which he retired all eight batters he faced.
“I like knowing that if I don’t get the job done, we don’t win,” Cozart said. He leads the Bobcats in wins (5), saves (7) and ERA (2.06).
What defined Ohio Friday was its combination of pitching and hitting in the clutch.
“That was huge what Jake Miller did today going into the seventh inning and we kind of want to build on that because we trust out bats to come around,” Wells said. “If our pitching is on, we like to think we have a chance to win every game.”
Ohio has put together back-to-back shutout victories, including its 6-0 win over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, and the morale around the dugout is as high as it’s been all season.
“One of our team slogans is, ‘Something good is about to happen,'” Smith said, “and that’s a combination of whether it’s the season or in a given game or in a given moment.”
jh950614@ohio.edu
@JordanHorrobin
