Bobcats overwhelm Eagles with 10 runs in first five innings to clinch the series victory.
The Bobcats of May are beginning to look a lot like the Bobcats of February.
Backed by early run support that eased the pressure on its pitching staff, Ohio rolled past Eastern Michigan 10-3 in game two of the teams’ three-game series.
The Bobcats’ offensive outburst looked a lot like their early-season efforts, in which they won their first six games and scored an average of 11 runs per game.
With Saturday’s win, Ohio (29-18, 14-9 Mid-American Conference) won its fourth conference series – including wins over Buffalo, Kent State and Akron – and seventh series overall on the season.
For the second straight game, the Bobcats struck first with two runs in the first inning.
Redshirt junior designated hitter Cody Gaertner doubled with two outs in the first inning to score senior first baseman Jake Madsen and redshirt senior infielder Garrett Black.
A three-run homer by junior infielder John Adryan boosted Ohio’s lead to 5-0 in the third inning, then a two-run blast in the fourth by sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo – who homered in Friday’s 5-0 win – put Ohio on top 7-0.
The Bobcats made all of their noise in their first five at-bats, putting up 10 runs on 10 hits to build a 10-0 margin by the middle of the fifth inning. They managed just one hit over the final four innings of play, but they still cruised to an easy seven-run win.
Junior outfielder Manny DeJesus led the way for Ohio on offense with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI. Adryan pitched in with a 2-for-4 day and four RBIs.
Connor Sitz (6-1) won his team-best sixth decision for Ohio. He scattered eight hits and a walk – while working around two wild pitches – over six innings and gave up just one earned run.
Ohio will play for its third MAC sweep of the season tomorrow with Jake Rudnicki (3-4, 6.55 ERA) on the mound to start. First pitch for game three against Eastern Michigan (18-31, 8-15 MAC) is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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