For the first time since 2008, Ohio won its season-opening game.
Ohio defeated Murray State 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader and then dropped their second contest by the same score, splitting an opening weekend series against the Racers at a neutral site in Columbia, Tenn.
The first game saw an offensive explosion from the Bobcats, as they notched 16 hits, which was a total Ohio matched just three times last season.
“We did some things today that really were a struggle last year,” coach Rob Smith said. “We hit with some guys in scoring position and we got two-out hits. Offensively, given all the challenges we’ve faced with injuries, I was very happy with what those guys did at the plate.”
Ohio opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second, turning four hits into two runs, with junior outfielder Tyler Wells and freshman outfielder Mitch Longo driving in the runs with a pair of singles.
In his first game as a Bobcat, freshman starting pitcher Jake Roehn allowed four runs, with three of them coming on a home run by Racer first baseman Michael Hargrove in the third inning. That gave Murray State a 4-2 lead.
After the Racers put two more runs on the board in the fifth, Ohio roared back with a four-run, five-hit sixth inning to tie the game at six.
Longo started off the scoring with an RBI double, which was followed by a run-scoring single by junior third baseman Tirey Burch. The next two runs came on a pair of safety squeezes by freshman Ty Black and senior Scott White.
And the bullpen closed the door for the Bobcats, as it shut out the Racers over the final five innings, allowing just one hit and two walks and freshman Nick Nauracy picked up the win.
The game-winning run of the first game came off the bat of Longo, who had a career-day in his first collegiate game. He went 4 for 4, with three RBIs, two runs scored and one double in the first game, with two more hits and RBI in the second game.
“I was seeing the ball well and I was just kind of loose,” Longo said. “I got a lot of balls in the zone that I could handle. I got into some good hitting counts and everything kind of fell into place.”
Ohio opened the second game quickly, as Burch singled in White and then Longo followed with another single that scored both Madsen and Burch.
After a four-run fourth inning provided the Racers with a 6-4 lead, the Bobcats came back in the sixth to tie on a two-run double by White.
But an RBI single by Murray State catcher Tyler Lawrence in the bottom half of the sixth broke the tie and provided the Racers with the win in the second game.
@c_hoppens
ch203310@ohiou.edu
Fast Facts:
Game One: Ohio 7, Murray State 6
W-Nick Nauracy L-Cody Maerz
Game Two: Murray State 7, Ohio 6
W- Andrew Bramley L-Connor Sitz
-Mitch Longo went 6 for 7 with 5 RBI and four runs scored in his first two collegiate games
-Sophomore starter Jake Miller was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.1 innings in the second game
