Ohio (13-16, 11-4 Mid-American Conference) has been enjoying a hot streak in MAC games of late with back-to-back weekend sweeps of Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
The Bobcats are now set to take on Miami (10-25, 6-9 MAC) in a three game series that continues a historic rivalry between the two teams. Miami has not seen the same success that Ohio has in the MAC, that doesn’t mean that this series won’t be close. Both teams will be fueled by the ferocious rivalry and we’re sure to see some great baseball and enjoy some great weather at Bob Wren Stadium this weekend.
Here is all you need to know before the series kicks off on Friday.
Series Information
Opponent: Miami
Location: Bob Wren Stadium
Dates and Times: April 14 at 6 p.m. and April 15 at 1 p.m. and 4 p..m.
Live stats can be followed here
The game can be streamed here
Meet the opponent
Head Coach: Danny Hayden (tenth season)
Probable Starters:
Connor Oliver (1-4, 3.89 ERA)
Kenten Egbert (3-2, 3.72 ERA)
Zach Maxey (2-6, 8.90 ERA)
Statistical leaders
ERA: Egbert (3.72)
Strikeouts: Oliver (66)
Batting Average: Benji Brokemond (.316)
Doubles: Zach MacDonald (13)
RBI: Ryland Zaborowski (31)
Walks: Evan Appelwick (28)
Home Runs: Zambrowski (12)
Series History
Over time, these two teams have been evenly matched, with Miami holding the slight edge with 28 wins compared to Ohio’s 22 over the last 17 years. The Bobcats do, however, hold a 6-4 record over the last ten matchups between the two. Last year at Miami, Ohio lost two of three with a 10-9 win in the second matchup.
Players to Watch
The Starting Rotation - The Bobcats feature one of the best offenses in the MAC, however, the team often runs into trouble with starting pitching. Last weekend against Toledo, Luke Olson hurled a complete game shutout and motivated some solid performances from both Mitchel Hemmen and Trent Spoon. Spoon has struggled so far this year with a 7.91 ERA, including a performance against Northern Illinois in which the left hander gave up nine runs in four innings. If Ohio’s pitching can perform, the team usually dominates.
