Rob Smith is a master of tinkering with his lineup.
When his pitching staff struggled two years ago, the coach decided to throw a different pitcher every inning. During his five-year tenure, he’s found his way to deal with injuries, poor play and fatigue.
This season, he’s making another move. A move, he hopes, that could propel the team back to the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Jake Rudnicki, who made the most starts for last year’s squad, is a starter no more. He has been moved to the bullpen to work as a late-inning reliever.
The senior right-hander joins Tom Colletti and Jake Roehn to create a formidable back-end trio Smith expects could dominate the MAC.
“It's one of those things that me, (Colletti) and Roehn do, is kind of take pride in it,” Rudnicki said. “We try to make our own identity out of it. We're going to have some fun and hopefully close out a lot of games."
Rudnicki recorded a 5.11 ERA last season in 14 starts and had a 5-3 record.
His move to the bullpen was brought on by the addition of a starting pitcher, Butch Baird, a junior transfer from Wabash Valley Community College. Baird will be the second man in the rotation.
The move couldn’t have sounded better to Rudnicki’s bullpen mates, as Colletti and Roehn, statistically the team’s two best pitchers last year, relish the opportunity to be one of the aspects of the team’s success.
“I'm really confident in the back-end of our bullpen,” Roehn said. “It's a good feeling. I hope we have one of the best 'pens in the conference. All of us are pretty confident."
If the bullpen does end up being one of Ohio’s most reliable forces, Roehn will probably be the engine that moves it.
The team’s closer, Roehn will be the anchor for the team after an impressive season last year as a redshirt sophomore, when he recorded the team’s lowest ERA, 2.18, and had the most saves, 8.
The redshirt junior was a starter his freshman year in 2014, when he led the team in wins and strikeouts. In 2015, he dealt with injuries and was redshirted.
But now, he’s ready to own the fact that he’s the team’s premier closer.
“Last year going into it, I was unsure if that's something I wanted to do or not,” Roehn said. “Throughout the year, it grew on me. I started to like it a lot more, always getting put into high pressure situations. One mistake could cost you the game. That's what I love about it.”
However, Smith certainly has a reason to be concerned with the pitching staff as a whole.
Last season, opponents scored 80 runs in the first two innings alone, and last year’s Friday and Saturday starters, Connor Sitz and Jake Miller, have graduated.
The team had high hopes for Gerry Salisbury, who returned from an elbow injury last year, but the left-hander struggled out of the gate and was moved to the bullpen.
Still, Smith is putting his trust into Salisbury, who will be the Friday starter this season.
"I've got a lot of confidence in Gerry,” Smith said. “Always have, always will. He prepares, he cares, he works hard. I think he's going to be a huge part of our success this year."
After a season that saw the team miss out on qualifying for the MAC Tournament, Ohio is hoping to turn one of their biggest weaknesses into its strengths.
Smith knows it is not going to be easy — the bullpen has not been dominant recently.
But like he’s done multiple times during his tenure at the helm of Ohio, Smith is still going to roll with it and hope for the best.
"I think it's got a chance to be our strength,” he said. “I hope we get a really good synergy out of these guys. Someone can knock out the seventh inning, someone can knock out the eighth inning, and someone can take care of the ninth. If we can do that, that really sets the tone for the team and does a lot in terms of creating a confidence for you team. If you can get a lead after six innings, the game's over."
