Before embarking on his team's opening weekend series, coach Rob Smith made some big changes to the pitching staff, hoping to improve upon last year's disappointing numbers.
The adjustments paid off this weekend, as Ohio's pitchers propelled the Bobcats to a 3-1 record to start the new season.
Ohio played two games each against La Salle (0-4) and Butler (3-1), sweeping La Salle by scores of 10-2 on Friday and 14-5 on Saturday while splitting the series against Butler in a 15-4 loss in Saturday's second game and a 3-0 shutout win on Sunday.
Ohio's pitching staff stood out in its victories, as the Bobcats already have their first full-game shutout under their belt while the bullpen threw 3 2/3 innings of shutout baseball in the opening game on Friday as well as five scoreless innings in the final game on Sunday.
An encouraging sign for Smith's pitching staff was the strong start from southpaw Gerry Salisbury, who pitched 5 1/3 innings to earn the win in Friday's game, yielding just two earned runs, four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters.
Salisbury, who made just five starts in 17 appearances last season, was inserted into the starting rotation by Smith for the 2017 campaign. Smith is expecting the redshirt junior to anchor the rotation and improve upon a lowly 5.36 ERA from a year ago.
Redshirt junior Michael Klein also delivered in his start on Sunday, as the right-hander tossed four scoreless innings while striking out five batters and allowing one hit and a walk.
But Klein's contributions didn't just come from the mound.
Serving as the Bobcats' designated hitter, Klein batted a combined 6-for-15 this weekend, scoring three runs while batting in five. Klein flashed power as well, hitting a three-run home run in Friday's win and a solo home run in Saturday's first game, the first two home runs for Ohio in the young season.
The biggest move Smith made to his pitching staff was transitioning senior right-hander Jake Rudnicki from the rotation to the bullpen, and Rudnicki delivered in Sunday's win, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out four batters and allowing two hits and a walk.
Left-handed junior Butch Baird, who transferred from Wabash Valley this season and was formerly a Louisville reliever, turned in a strong start in Saturday's first game, earning the win by pitching six innings and allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out three.
Pitching will continue to be a big question towards how far Ohio goes this season, but through the team's first four games, Smith's shakeups were beneficial for the Bobcats' early success.
The Bobcats will head down south again when they play four games against Southern Illinois (2-2) from Feb. 24-26 in Emerson, Ga.
