Starting pitching dooms Bobcats as they drop their first series at home
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Just by glancing at the box scores from this weekend, it’s not difficult to tell what went wrong for the Bobcats in their first Mid-American Conference series at Bob Wren Stadium this season.
Ohio allowed 14 runs total during the first two innings of the three games this series. That trend of playing from behind game plagued Ohio in the series opener and finale, but the Bobcats were able to overcome their deficit of the middle game.
The Bobcats trailed 5-0 to Western Michigan as early as the third inning on Saturday, but Ohio scored seven unanswered runs — including two unearned runs in the eighth to take the lead — and secured a 7-5-comeback victory.
“This is kinda how we’ve been doing it all year,” coach Rob Smith said. “It’s a bit of a roller coaster ride and you just got to strap in and stay with the game, stay positive with it and expect something good is going to happen.”
Ohio lost the first game of the series, 12-9, and the last game of the series, 7-4.
The starting pitching was the sore thumb of all the weaknesses that Ohio displayed on the weekend. On Friday and Saturday, Ohio’s starters, junior Connor Sitz and sophomore Tom Colletti, respectively, went three innings each.
Sunday’s starter, freshman Mason McWilliams, only lasted 1/3 of an inning. He allowed one hit and three runs, but only one was earned.
Although it was a revolving door of relief pitchers for a majority of the weekend, Smith is comfortable with the decision to use a significant number of pitchers on the mound.
“It’s something we might have to do a lot more of,” Smith said. “Just to shrink the responsibility. We’ll ask guys to go out there and get three outs. Sometimes it’s more difficult for a pitcher to go the whole four, five, six innings. The unknown can be a little bit more difficult to deal with.”
Looking past the struggles of the starting rotation, the bullpen did a solid job picking up the slack left behind by the starting pitchers. Ohio’s relief pitchers combined to allow eight total runs in games’ final six innings of the series against Western Michigan.
Senior Logan Cozart and sophomore Jake Rudnicki were solid out of the bullpen on Saturday, as they pitched the final six innings of the game and allowed no runs, four hits and struck out eight. Cozart earned the win.
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“(Saturday) was more just focusing on pitching,” Rudnicki said. “Rather than just throwing strikes and actually getting guys out and focusing on getting ahead in counts and pitching with strikes. It worked out.”
Redshirt junior catcher Cody Gaertner also took note of the performance of the backend of the bullpen. Gaertner was behind the plate for Friday and Sunday’s game.
“I think the backend of our bullpen has been great,” Gaertner said. “Our starting pitching still needs to figure it out a little bit, but they’re coming along too. Connor Sitz is having a great year, he struggled a bit in the beginning of the year, but I have no doubt he’ll get back into it.”
Ohio will attempt to turn its starting pitching around this week, as it heads to Columbus to face Ohio State on Tuesday. Sitz will get the start for the Bobcats.
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