Ohio (8-23, 4-11 Mid-American Conference) didn’t come into its rematch with Marshall (17-16, 5-7 Sun Belt) at its strongest and didn’t play its strongest either. An overall weak performance resulted in the Bobcats’ 10-5 midweek loss.
Ohio came into the game with two of its biggest playmakers out. The MAC’s home runs leader, sophomore outfielder Ben Slanker, took a rest day ahead of a weekend against VMI, while defensive-minded sophomore shortstop JR Nelson hasn’t played since March but will be reevaluated in the coming weeks.
“We’re getting (Nelson) looked at this week with doctors to see how we move forward with him,” Ohio coach Craig Moore said.
Despite the missing talent at bat, Ohio’s pitching is what caused fits early on. While freshman Hunter Winston has gotten the last couple Tuesday starts, Moore tried junior Landon Price on the mound against Marshall.
The top of the first was a defensive disaster that saw Marshall go through its entire batting order on just 16 pitches. Price hit the lead-off batter, senior outfielder Jackson Halter, with his first pitch before walking the second and doubling the third for the Thundering Herd’s first of 4 first inning runs.
“That was the name of the game today,” Moore said. “We gave them too many freebies, walks, hit by pitch, errors, and they took advantage of it.”
Halter had a fantastic game for Marshall, going two of two when he needed to swing and making it to first on a walk or hit-by pitch every other time he stepped up to bat. He finished with two hits on five total at-bats for 3 runs.
Ohio escaped a hectic top of the second, pitched by senior Tyler Peck, with just 1 run allowed. The bottom of the inning would be Ohio’s most explosive, scoring 3 runs with 2 coming off a single from graduate outfielder Trenton Neuer.
Peck would continue to limit further damage in the third, keeping Marshall scoreless, but the offense couldn’t make any plays in return to trim the 5-3 deficit.
In the fourth, Moore went with graduate student Jacob Tate for what would be the second straight scoreless inning on both sides. Tate would follow it up with another goose egg on the scoreboard in the fifth, as the Bobcat offense came alive, tying the game 5-5.
“(Tate) got extended, which is good to see,” Moore said. “His last couple outings have been a lot better. We’re seeing improvements in terms of control … he’s not so erratic like he was a couple times earlier this year.”
Tate’s extension went into the top of the sixth, where things started to slip. After walking Halter and doubling Marshall’s third batter, senior outfielder Ethan Murdoch hit a ball hard in the infield to give the team a 6-5 lead.
After redshirt sophomore infielder Tyler Kamerer walked and stole second, a single from Marshall’s next batter scored both baserunners, leading to Tate being replaced by sophomore Trey Barkman. As the inning ended, Ohio faced an 8-5 deficit and would be unable to score the rest of the way.
The final score of the game would come in the seventh, when Marshall sophomore infielder AJ Havrilla lined up a home run out of left field, scoring himself and Halter.
The final two innings would see one-two-three innings from underclassmen pitchers, sophomore Ethan Stewart and freshman Julian Robertson. Both saw strong outings against Northern Illinois, with Robertson getting his first career save in Ohio’s 17-16, 12-inning victory last Saturday.
“Ethan had another good outing … and Julian came out and had a lot of conviction with his pitches,” Moore said. “It’s good to see those younger guys building confidence.”
Ohio will continue its week away from the MAC against VMI at home in a three-game series spanning Friday to Sunday.
