Ohio travelled to Bowling Green and Toledo, however, didn’t improve much in the Mid-American Conference standings.
Ohio’s road trip to Bowling Green and Toledo was indicative of what has gone on all season for the Bobcats.
Ohio split both its series and drove back to Athens no better, nor worse, than when they started its second-to-last road trip of the season.
“I was really happy by the pitching performance from Mikayla Cooper on both days,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “Both teams came out and played hard for both series, and our wins were very much earned.”
Against Toledo (19-26, 4-10 Mid-American Conference) on Saturday, Cooper pitched 8 1/3 total innings, only sacrificing two runs and keeping Ohio’s (14-24, 6-6 MAC) playoff chances afloat.
This season, Cooper has been diverse in her role, occasionally stepping into the circle if she’s not the Bobcats’ catcher or infielder.
Senior Timmie Rappe was also a key cog in Ohio’s offense throughout the weekend. Against Toledo, she garnered four hits, and two runs at eight at-bats. Rappe, who was used primarily as a pinch runner last season, has made her mark on the lineup this season by adapting “210 Slappers” to her work ethic. She’s made it a habit to do 210 repetitions of a certain workout routine to improve her play — and it’s shown. With 56 season at-bats, Rappe has notched 15 hits and 13 runs — a significant statistical jump from last season.
On Friday, juniors Amanda Dalton and Sloan Walker carried the Bobcats’ offense in game one against Bowling Green (14-23, 5-9 MAC) by combining for six hits and five runs. Their offense, however, did not carry through into game two as the Bobcats’ offense was held to just three runs and seven hits. Redshirt senior Raven King lead the Bobcats with three RBIs.
With the two series split, the Bobcats stand as the eighth best team in the MAC, however, have a marginal gap between them and the ninth seeded Falcons.
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It’s been stated before, but the injury to junior Savannah Jo Dorsey has plagued much of Ohio’s pitching rotation this season.
Dorsey was the Bobcats’ ace last season and played a vital role in Ohio’s MAC Championship run, but without her in the circle, Ohio could be strangling in the middle of the MAC when the season comes to a close. Dorsey was the Bobcats’ starting pitcher in 35 games last season, recording a season ERA of 2.37 and hitting six home runs.
The Bobcats will travel to Columbus to play Ohio State on Tuesday, but after its matchup there, they will only have three series left in conference play.
@Lukeoroark
