Through three series against Mid-American Conference opponents, Ohio (6-16, 2-7 MAC) has yet to establish a true identity. After dominating game one of a three-game series with Toledo, Ohio fell apart and lost the next two games for its third straight series loss to begin conference play.
Game One was promising for the Bobcats, who scratched across 16 runs en route to a run-rule victory. Eight of Ohio’s nine batters tallied hits in the game while senior starting pitcher Blake Gaskey turned in another win-worthy appearance.
Sophomore outfielder Ben Slanker, who has established himself as Ohio’s top offensive threat, tallied his ninth home run of the season in the contest. As a sophomore, Slanker ranks in the top 30 in the NCAA in home runs this season.
Sophomore shortstop JR Nelson has caught fire in recent games, including a three-hit game during Friday’s matchup. Nelson has increased his batting average over the last few months from .174 before MAC play started to the .283 mark.
Gaskey delivered his second consecutive start of allowing 2 or fewer runs in MAC play during Game One after delivering six quality innings for the Bobcats.
After Friday, where Ohio looked unstoppable, the team never quite returned to form. For Game Two, bullpen pitching was the culprit in the loss. For Game Three, the offense couldn’t scratch across a single run in a nine-inning shutout.
Ohio got off to a good start Saturday, taking a 2-run lead into the sixth inning. The Bobcats scored in the third and fifth innings using some small ball to score runs via a sac fly and a single.
Starting pitcher Hudson Boncal has an equally impressive start for Ohio. Boncal, a senior, tallied six innings of scoreless baseball, doing all he could to keep Ohio in the game. Despite what would be a lopsided 7-3 loss, Boncal turned in the best start of the weekend by Ohio pitching.
Things turned bad for Ohio, as it has at so many other points this season when it turned to its bullpen in the seventh. Entering with a 2-2 tie thanks to 2 unearned runs against Boncal, senior Dylan Eggl took the mound and immediately surrendered the lead by allowing a hard-hit double down the line to score a run.
After Eggl, Kolby Pascarelli took the ball to try and limit the damage but did the exact opposite. What was a narrow 1-run deficit quickly turned into a 5-run Toledo lead after Pascarlli surrendered 4 quick runs in the eighth before being taken out with two outs.
Game Three featured perhaps the best all-around pitching the Bobcats have received this season, yet they still could not capitalize and get a win.
Starting pitcher Dillon Masters delivered another quality start for Ohio, going six-and-one-third innings and allowing only 1 run. Masters started his day with five straight scoreless innings. As a whole, Ohio starting pitchers combined to allow only 3 earned runs all weekend.
While Masters pitched well, Toledo’s Jackson Bergman pitched better. Bergman went five-and-one-third innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four.
Ohio’s two hits against Bergman were the only hits it would tally throughout the game’s nine innings. The Rocket bullpen delivered three-and-two-thirds hitless innings to end the game.
The game’s only run was scored by Toledo in the sixth when third baseman Troy Sudbrook singled to drive in a run.
In three games, Ohio showed glimpses of a great team. At times, the team delivered exceptionally off the mound, and at other times, the team hit the ball at an elite rate. The series loss, however, can ultimately be credited to Ohio’s inability to put it all together and deliver a winning product.
