It was a tale of two sides for Ohio (5-13, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) in its 1-2 weekend against Central Michigan (6-13, 3-0 MAC) at Bob Wren. Ohio’s singular win came Saturday after two losses Friday, leading to a weekend where Ohio was outscored 30-23.
The first game featured the most explosive inning of all three matchups. Senior Blake Gaskey was on the mound for Ohio, starting with two scoreless innings as Ohio jumped to a 2-0 lead. The third inning shifted pace, as Gaskey’s lead-off strikeout would be followed by a home run. Ohio got a second out before Central Michigan’s next score, but couldn’t keep runners off bases from that point on.
With two base runners, Chippewa junior infielder Aaron Piasecki doubled, scoring both players on base before stealing third. The next batter walked, and the next hit a triple, scoring Central Michigan 2 more runs.
After another score with bases loaded, redshirt senior Tyler Peck replaced Gaskey. Peck couldn’t get the needed out, seeing 6 more runs get home before the final out. The 11-run explosion for the Chippewas ended up being too much. Despite only scoring in the third and the eighth, Ohio’s offense couldn’t do enough to overcome the deficit, falling 14-7.
In game two, just an hour after game one, Ohio would experience its second loss, albeit a much lower-scoring one. Senior Hudson Boncal got his second start of the season in a game that featured just 5 total runs.
Ohio struck first blood as sophomore outfielder Ben Slanker doubled, advancing to third on a ground out, before scoring on the next at-bat. Central Michigan struck back in the top of the third, evening the score 1-1 on a Nathan Ball RBI double.
The next three innings went scoreless on both sides. Boncal conceded three hits in six innings, but let in just as many runs. In the seventh inning, Boncal allowed the first two batters on base with a walk and a single before being relieved by sophomore Jack Geiser.
After a ground out, Central Michigan’s Cole Prout would send a home run over the right field gate, scoring three and taking the winning lead of 4-1 for Central Michigan.
Ohio got its only MAC win thus far in game three, winning 15-12 Saturday night. After the Chippewas got the first run of the game, the Bobcats fired right back with a 2-run homer from JR Nelson.
However, in the second and third innings, Ohio conceded 9 more runs, falling behind 10-2 early on. Senior Dillon Masters got the start being credited with 8 runs before sophomore Trey Barkman retired him early, giving up the final 2.
From then on, the game was almost all Ohio. In the third and fourth, Ohio cut the lead to 3 runs with home runs from senior catchers Jackson Cauthron and Wes Lug. The Chippewas netted their 2 final runs in the fifth and sixth, giving them a 5-run cushion over the Bobcats entering the game’s final third, but the home team wouldn’t relent.
Slanker would net Ohio’s single run in the sixth, scoring sophomore catcher Trae Cassidy on an RBI double before Cauthron scored himself once again on a home run in the seventh. Ohio would turn the seventh into an onslaught, netting 7 runs in the inning.
Redshirt junior Dylan Eggl and redshirt sophomore Kolby Pascarelli pitched three scoreless innings on the other end, leaving it up to Ohio’s offense to continue scoring.
Ohio will look to build off its win with a game against Dayton on Tuesday before returning to MAC play against Toledo for its first weekend on the road in conference play.
