After dropping all three games against Butler, one frustrating theme was clear for Ohio — it’s not winning the close games.
The Bobcats lost 4-3 (11 innings) Friday before losing 7-6 and 5-4 on Saturday, which extends their season-worst losing streak to four. They are 2-5 this season in one-run games.
“We’re putting ourselves in the right positions," coach Rob Smith said. "We just gotta continue to learn how to finish the deal."
Confusion leads to extras loss
Ohio got the hit it needed Friday with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. That put the game in the hands of the Bobcat bullpen, a group Smith is confident in.
“With our bullpen, if we tie the game late I expect we’re going to win it,” Smith said.
Many times before this season, Smith’s bullpen had helped the Bobcats to victory. This time, however, Ohio reliever Jake Rudnicki allowed three hits, a walk and the deciding run in two innings.
Rudnicki served up leadoff doubles in both innings and was forced to work from behind as a result.
In the 10th inning, Rudnicki’s defense helped him keep the Bulldogs off the board. Devon Garcia stretched out for his second diving catch of the game, then Tyler Finkler started a 6-4-3 double play to strand a runner at third.
But in the 11th, with leadoff hitter Jordan Lucio on third because of a passed ball, Rudnicki threw wildly on a pitch out attempt. The ball reached the backstop and Lucio ran home for the go-ahead run.
“There was confusion on it (the play),” Smith said. “We felt like they were gonna try to do a suicide squeeze bunt play, so we were trying to defend that.”
Comebacks fall short in doubleheader
One positive Smith said he will take from the weekend is his team’s resiliency.
The Bobcats forced extra innings Friday when down to their last out, then followed Saturday with a late scoring surge in game one and a quick response to Butler late in game two.
In Saturday’s first game, Ohio combined for six runs in the seventh and eighth, which included a two-RBI double for Garcia. In the second game, the Bobcats responded to Butler’s game-tying home run in the seventh with Connor Callery’s RBI single in the bottom half.
Ohio couldn’t seal victories in either effort, but Smith was pleased to see fight from his group.
“They didn’t roll over,” he said. “They didn’t lay down. We could’ve very easily done that.”
Houston was a problem
There’s no other way to say it — Butler center fielder Tyler Houston was a problem for Ohio all weekend long.
Houston went off against the Bobcats, finishing 8-for-14 with five home runs and eight RBIs.
He almost single-handedly pulled Butler to its 7-6 win in game one Saturday, with five hits (three homers) and six RBIs.
Smith said there was only one time — in the sixth in Saturday’s first game with two outs and runners on second and third — in which he considered not pitching to Houston. In that instance, Houston hit a two-run single.
“The guy did something I’ve never seen before out of a college player,” said Smith, who began his NCAA coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Purdue in 1999. “You don’t expect that.”
