Ohio has been a powerhouse on all sides of the ball for the entire season, and it was displayed Friday against Toledo. Despite a close game, every part of Ohio’s team contributed just like every other game this season. After playing an all-around great game, Ohio recorded a 3-2 win to move to 9-2 in MAC play.
The Bobcats have been as complete of a team as any so far, which was on full display Friday. As a team, Ohio holds a 2.86 ERA, which makes them best in the MAC by a wide margin; second-place is Ball State, which has an ERA of 4.06. Offensively, Ohio is batting at an average of .302, which puts it .011 points behind first-place Miami.
This jack of all trades aspect of this Ohio team has shown itself to be useful, as Ohio is currently the second overall team in the MAC with a 9-2 record in conference play, with many of those games being decided by 1 inning.
“This is our 13th one inning game, it just says that our pitchers are going the distance and holding strong in the end, and also our defense has been really consistent this year," Ohio coach Jenna Hall said. "Our team knows just how good they can be down the stretch, they have really good feet and really good presence on every pitch.”
The plays Ohio made against Toledo early on made a huge difference. The first big play came in the very first inning of the game, courtesy of sophomore infielder Brenna Farmer and senior catcher Emma Hoffner. They helped Ohio get a double-play in the top of the first inning, preventing a run that would’ve ended up tying the game at the end.
“Brenna and Emma run that play almost every single time with two outs,“ Hall said. "They make that play every single day at practice and every single game. It's a huge moment because if they come out to score in the first it changes a lot.”
Ohio didn’t let off the brakes there, as senior outfielder Maddie Wilcox hit a huge home run to get Ohio on the scoreboard first with a 1-0 lead. This is Wilcox’s third home run of the year.
“I’ve worked really hard and to see it finally coming out, it's super fun,“ Wilcox said. "I knew my teammates would get super excited and would pick up off of that.”
Coach Hall also enjoyed the early score from Wilcox, as she was stressed to get on the board first in all the games Ohio has played in.
“Maddie came up clutch for us and set the tone a little bit,“ Hall said. "She’s been in a great place for us offensively, and even on her second bat, she was really close to getting another one. Anytime you can score first, it helps feel a little more confident about what we’re doing.”
The pitching from junior Skipp Miller also helped, as the game was one score in the final inning. Miller continued her dominance into the final inning, getting three quick outs to win the game for Ohio.
“She's pitched a great game and we’ve made her feel comfortable,“ Wilcox said. "It's all about having confidence in the last inning and just being relaxed.”
