Ohio faced a tall task in closing out its regular season against the Mid-American Conference's toughest opponent in Kent State, who had won eight of its last nine contests coming into the series.
But the Bobcats proved that they belong in the upcoming MAC Tournament, as they won two of the three games at home against the Golden Flashes and are heading into the postseason with confidence after winning seven of their last nine games against conference opponents.
Game 3
The Bobcats' bats were silenced in the third and final game of the series to close out the regular season, as Ohio only mustered four hits in Saturday's 5-2 loss.
Just three Bobcats notched a hit, with Tyler Finkler tallying two, as the offense failed to pick up starting pitcher Tom Colletti's efforts from the mound. In his final appearance at Bob Wren Stadium, the right-handed senior pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up three earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out four batters.
Ohio (27-26, 13-11 MAC) finished in second place in the MAC East Division, while Kent State (35-16, 18-6) ended with the best overall and conference record in the MAC.
Game 2
Redshirt junior Michael Klein carried the Bobcats to victory both at the mound and the plate in Friday's 8-5 victory to clinch the series.
Serving as the designated hitter, Klein went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run that highlighted a seven-run fifth inning for Ohio. It gave Kent State starting pitcher Joey Murray, who entered Friday's game with a 2.12 ERA, his first loss of the season.
From the mound, the right-handed Klein tossed five innings and gave up just one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out four batters to earn his fifth win of the season. With 12 games started and a 3.24 ERA, Klein finishes the regular season as Ohio's best starting pitcher statistically.
Game 1
Finkler started his final series in Athens with a bang, as the shortstop amassed three home runs and four RBIs in Thursday's 7-6 victory.
Finkler's trio of home runs made him the first Bobcat to reach three home runs in a game since Gauntlett Eldemire in 2010.
Sophomore Rudy Rott, junior Evan Bourn and senior Anthony Mrosla also contributed multi-hit performances for the Bobcats to give starting left-hander Gerry Salisbury his fourth win of the season. The redshirt junior went 5 2/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on nine hits and a pair of walks while striking out three batters.
What's next?
With the fifth seed in the MAC Championship, the Bobcats will face fourth-seeded Ball State at 8 p.m on Wednesday in Avon at Spreger Stadium in the first round of the double-elimination tournament. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
Ohio previously played Ball State in its first conference series of the regular season, sweeping the Cardinals in three games and outscoring them 23-8.
