Ohio saw its seven-game win streak come to an end Monday against Ball State, but it still found a silver lining. Despite the loss on Monday, the Bobcats claimed two wins in the three-game series against the Cardinals and have retained a solid position in the Mid-American Conference standings.
The Bobcats continued their trend of close games as all three games in the series were decided by two or fewer runs. They dominated the doubleheader on Sunday and claimed their third-straight doubleheader sweep against a conference opponent. After a scoreless seventh inning in the first game, the Bobcats retook the lead after Sophia Bernard and Lauren Yuhas crushed a pair of home runs in the top of the eighth inning.
The Bobcats did their damage early in the second game of the doubleheader. A two-run single by Annalia Paoli and a home run from Yasmine Logan put them up by three runs by the middle of the third inning. The Cardinals scored twice in the bottom of the third, but Tori Walker iced the game with a three-run shot in the fifth inning to add insurance to the Bobcats’ lead.
Ohio’s game on Monday began in similar fashion. It secured an early four-run lead after three solid innings, but this time it was unable to hold on. Ball State scored five unanswered runs to take the final game of the series.
After a low-scoring series against Akron last week, Ohio’s potent offense put on a show against Ball State. It scored 17 runs across three games. The series was Ohio’s second-highest scoring series of the season, topped only by its 28-run weekend against Miami.
Paoli and Caroline Spacek provided an offensive spark against the Cardinals. The duo combined for nine hits and five RBIs over the course of the series, and the two combined for three hits in each game.
While the offense showed out, it was a tough weekend for Ohio’s pitchers. Mackensie Kohl and Kylie Coffelt gave up a combined 14 runs. However, both pitchers each pitched a complete game during the doubleheader and struck out a combined 14 batters on Sunday. Kohl and Coffelt provided Ohio with the opportunity to sweep the doubleheader and gave Ohio’s offense room to work. The pitching duo has been able to shut down conference opponents before, and Ohio has picked up wins due to that.
Now, Ohio is sitting at second place in the MAC standings, and it is only a few wins behind first-place Miami.
