Through the season's halfway point, Ohio's biggest problem has been its lack of offense, which has often allowed dominant pitching performances turn into tough losses.
That theme turned around last weekend as the Bobcats notched 23 runs to sweep Ball State in a three-game series to begin Mid-American Conference play — their first sweep of the season.
Ohio (14-12, 3-0 MAC) will look to match its offensive pace of late on Tuesday as it returns to Bob Wren Stadium for a single game against Dayton.
Continuing the offensive resurgence
The Bobcats' first three hitters, senior Spencer Ibarra, sophomore Rudy Rott and redshirt junior Michael Klein, propelled Ohio's offensive revival last weekend and scored nine runs with nine RBIs. The trio will look to carry the momentum into Tuesday's game.
Each player tallied at least one hit in each game with the exception of Ibarra, who went 0-for-2 at the plate on Sunday but still managed to reach base twice by a hit-by-pitch and catcher's interference while also stealing two bases.
Senior Connor Callery anchored the bottom half of the lineup, going 5-for-12 on the weekend while scoring three runs and driving in one.
The impressive weekend brought his batting average above .300, while the team as a whole now has six players with batting averages above .265.
While it's just a single game, Tuesday's matchup will be key for the Bobcats carrying over its recent offensive success before playing six of its next eight games against MAC opponents.
Consistency in pitching
Coach Rob Smith likes to give several pitchers work on Tuesday games, and that strategy has worked nicely for him, as the pitching staff from the last two weekday games has given up just three runs each game.
The Bobcats are 0-2 in those games, however, as the offense has plated just one run in the 18 combined innings.
But with the offense finally appearing to find a rhythm, a consistency in the solid pitching will be vital to Ohio's weekday-game success.
Redshirt junior Cory Blessing and redshirt sophomore Nick Kamrada have received the majority of recent weekday innings for the Bobcats, and will likely carry most of the work on Tuesday.
In the previous two weekday games, the duo has pitched a combined 8 1/3 innings, allowing just one unearned run on six hits while walking three batters and striking out eight — all of which belong to Blessing.
Smith and the Bobcats will be hoping the revamped offense and consistent pitching are present on Tuesday as Ohio looks to extend its winning streak to four games.
