In the grand scheme, a Tuesday night game against Dayton means little for Ohio. Despite the dramatics that led to a 12-inning loss for the Bobcats, the main purpose of mid-week baseball is simply to figure things out, whether that be lineups, schemes, or, in the case of Ohio, which first years have the potential to contribute to weekends.
Ohio coach Craig Moore utilized six freshmen in the 10-9 loss. The usual suspect was second baseman Matt Ineich, one of the Mid-American Conference’s best hitters, leading the conference in batting average and tied for second in hits in just 15 appearances.
Ineich’s performance has earned him the lead-off spot for the Bobcats, where he’s been immensely productive, with only one hit-less game. Against Dayton, Ineich tallied three more, netting two RBIs on the way.
Ohio’s other freshman batter was outfielder Brady Alexander. Despite an unproductive game, eventually getting replaced by sophomore Caleb Karll, Alexander has been impressive in limited outings, establishing himself last Tuesday against Morehead State with two home runs.
On the mound, Ohio’s starter was freshman Hunter Winston, who performed well. Winston allowed just a single run in his three innings, striking out two of his 16 batters faced.
“Hunter Winston did a good job of getting us into the game,” Moore said. “A lot of young arms, and that was the plan going into the game tonight.”
Two other young arms who struggled were Jimmy Cerha and Luke Bryant.
Cerha was the first to relieve Winston on the mound, making just his second appearance of the season – the last coming the previous Tuesday. It has been a rough showing so far for the righty, giving up seven hits and 7 runs to 12 batters faced. Against Dayton, Ohio’s opponent netted four hits for 3 runs with Cerha on the mound.
Moore looked to senior Adam Beery to steady the game in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing Ohio’s offense to cut Dayton’s lead to 5-4 when Beery checked out. Bryant was the third of four freshmen pitchers to get a shot, seeing ups and downs.
Bryant had been lights out in his Tuesday outings against Marshall and Morehead State prior, entering the game with a 2.70 ERA and four strikeouts in three-and-a-third innings played. Bryant added a fifth strikeout against the lead-off batter before allowing a single and letting the runner advance to third on a wild pitch.
That was the first of three consecutive wild pitches for Bryant, who allowed a score on the second. He would be relieved by Ethan Stewart two-thirds of the way through the seventh.
“(We tried) our best to get (the freshmen) in, to give them opportunities for experience … but we didn’t execute at all well enough to win,” Moore said.
A bright spot among the group was Ohio’s closing option, Julian Robertson, another freshman. While Robertson would give up the winning run in the 12th inning – unearned off a failed pick-off attempt that allowed Dayton sophomore Michael DiMartini to run in – he made a handful of clutch plays in the extended innings.
Robertson’s third career appearance saw him play two-an-a-third innings, allowing six hits for no earned runs. The only other run that scored with Robertson on the mound was a flukey half swing that popped up into right field, allowing the Dayton baserunner on third to score.
Overall, it was a mixed bag for the first-year performances, with impressive batting and pitching performances, as well as a good bit of room for improvement. Moore’s message was simple: execute better and win more games. But above all else, Tuesday baseball is for the freshmen to attain experience, which is exactly what they did against Dayton.
