Ohio (17-14, 8-2 Mid-American Conference) kicked off its weekend series against Ball State (16-14, 6-3 MAC) on Saturday in a windy and chilly game that saw the Bobcats capture game one with a 13-3 victory in five innings.
After a scoreless first inning, the Bobcats caught fire in the second. They scored eight runs, six of which were with two outs on the board, including Emma Hoffner’s deep triple that bounced off the tip of the fence to drive all three runners in, pushing the lead to 8-0. Angelina Russo, the starting pitcher for the Cardinals, was relieved by Alyssa Stramaglia after the triple.
In the top of the third, the Cardinals swung back on the Bobcats when catcher McKayla Timmons hit a three-run home run to right field to bring the game back to 8-3. It was Timmons’ seventh home run of the year and gave her 30 RBI for the season, both of which lead the Cardinals.
In the bottom of the third, the Bobcats found themselves with the bases loaded once again, and they did not disappoint. Yasmine Logan hit a grand slam over the right field fence that hit one of Ohio’s travel buses to increase the lead to 12-3. Logan finished the day 2-3 with 6 RBIs.
Gramaglia was then relieved by Francys King, and her first pitch was sent over the fence by Annalia Paoli, her sixth home run of the season, to increase the lead to 10.
Skipp Miller and the Bobcats defense kept the lead at 10, and a groundout to Shelby Westler finished off the Cardinals, giving the Bobcats a 13-3 game one victory. Miller is now 8-7 for the season.
The Bobcats' winning streak now sits at seven games and they will be looking to ride the momentum into Sunday’s doubleheader.
“Yeah, I honestly think it started with Miami,” said Coach Jenna Hall, when asked about the team’s recent success, “Saturday was a wakeup call for us and ever since it’s been like nose to the grindstone getting after it and just really sticking to the desire to win, not so much the result but just really wanting to get out there and put it on the other team.”
