Having won 10 of its last 12 games in the Mid-American Conference, Ohio took a break from conference play and traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, for a three-game series with Indiana. The tied-for No.1 Bobcats entered the nonconference tilt with a measly 2-12 record, and the losing trend continued. The Hoosiers, the momentary leaders of the Big Ten, won all three games convincingly by scoring a total of 35 runs.
Here’s how it went down:
Friday
Ohio’s Luke Olson (3-2) took the mound and the 9-8 loss in game one. He received immediate run support in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Will Sturek that scored A.J. Rausch. That advantage was quickly wiped off of the board due to a home run by Devin Taylor. The knock was the 10th that Olson has conceded on the season. Olson exited the game in the fifth inning with Indiana on top.
Facing junior pitcher Ey Brooks, Alec Patino doubled home Nick Dolan to tie the game in the top of the second. Patino went on to go 3-for-4 on the day, while Dolan went 1-for-4. Brooks threw 3 and ⅓ innings before being pulled in the third inning after the Bobcats scored two more runs on another Patino RBI and a wild pitch.
With Jacob Tate on the mound, Indiana ripped a three-run sixth inning that put it ahead 9-5, which was enough to earn them the victory despite a two-run ninth inning by Ohio. Lukkes went deep for his second-straight game in the ninth.
Saturday
In Saturday’s game, the Bobcats were bulldozed by the Hoosiers, losing 17-2. The only offense on the day came from solo home runs by Colin Kasperbauer and Sturek – it was their first and eighth of the year, respectively.
None of Ohio’s six pitchers were able to stay on the mound for more than Colin Sells’ (1-2) 2 and ⅓ innings, where he allowed six earned runs by means of a three-run home run by Tyler Cerny and singular runs were scored off of a single, sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice.
Jayden Jerger was the next Bobcat pitcher to take a beating. He allowed four runs in an inning’s work. Patrick DeMarco followed that up by allowing three runs of a second Cerny home run – this one a solo shot – and a Carter Mathison two-run home run.
By now, the damage had been done, and the Bobcats trailed 13-2. Indiana pitcher Luke Sinnard threw an impressive seven innings, where he allowed two runs before Ben Seiler threw the final two innings.
Sunday
Sunday’s matinee was more of the same. Ohio fell 9-2 by a barrage of four hits that each scored two runs for Indiana. In the third inning, Mason Minzey singled home Billy Adams and Rausch scored off of a failed pick-off attempt for the two Ohio runs of the day.
Starter Zach Weber (1-2) threw four innings of three-run ball, highlighted by Taylor’s second home run of the weekend that scored two runs. Bobby Whalen hit his own two-run home run and Phillip Glasser hit a two-RBI single in Hudson Boncal’s five-out appearance. Dillon Masters finished the series on the mound for Ohio – his two runs were by means of a Cerny double.
Despite outhitting Indiana 16-11 in the opener, the Bobcats were outhit 40-26 across all three games. Coming into the home stretch of conference play, Ohio needs to get the bats hot, but, more importantly: the pitching has to be better.
