Butler University may be in the midst of March Madness in basketball, but as the Bobcats face the Bulldogs this weekend at Bob Wren Stadium, a rebound performance is necessary as they march into conference play.
Ohio will host its final non-conference series as it tunes up for a showdown against Ohio State next Tuesday and then Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State next weekend.
This weekend is not only important because of Butler’s status as a Big East team, but because Ohio also struggled in its last outing against Morehead State.
Against a team that prides itself more on its hitting than its pitching, Ohio mustered just one run.
As they go against the Bulldogs and a pitching staff that holds teams to about three runs a game, the Bobcats are going to need to turn it around.
Some of that responsibility will fall on Ty Black.
The senior infielder started out his 2017 campaign with a slow start, barely hitting over .200. But with a three-hit performance on Tuesday evening, coach Rob Smith is confident Ohio can turn it around.
Black is not alone in struggling at the plate. Only two players, Michael Klein and Spencer Ibarra, are batting over .300. The Bobcats have also left 151 runners on base.
“We just have to continue to get better offensively,” Smith said. “We’ve got to find ways to score runs. We’ve got to come up with two-out hits. We had the bases loaded. We had (runners on) second and third. We weren’t able to come up with anything. We’ve just got to come up with these opportunities when they’re presented to us.”
Ohio will just have to ride with its hot hand: pitching.
The Bobcats’ weekend starters have a combined ERA of 2.28, while the anchor of their bullpen, Jake Roehn, has an ERA of 0.66.
Ohio has since gone consecutive games without allowing more than five runs.
Simply put, the players know this season is going to live and die with their arms — even its offense knows that.
“We’re definitely relying on our pitching this year,” Rudy Rott said. "We know those guys are going to come out and throw strikes. The starters have done a great job. The bullpen has done an incredible job."
But as Ohio looks to rebound against Butler, it knows it won’t be able to strictly rely on pitching.
“We want to pick the bats up,” Rott said. “We’re not happy with where we’re at. We’re not going to settle with what we’ve been doing.”
