Ohio had a chance to take the series from rival Miami this past weekend, but after a Sunday collapse, it had to settle for a split.
The RedHawks had shown the Bobcats their strong offense each game that series, but the Bobcats didn’t know just how powerful it could be until Sunday afternoon. After getting an early jump, the RedHawks rode out their lead until the end to squash the Bobcats’ dreams of a series win.
Here’s how the weekend went for Ohio:
Friday
The pitching came together for the Bobcats Friday for a 7-3 win. Edward Kutt IV dazzled over seven innings, striking out seven batters despite allowing three runs. Kutt then handed the ball off to trusted reliever Brett Manis to close out the final two innings. Manis allowed one hit and struck out three in his short stay on the mound.
Ohio wasn’t without its bats Friday either. A.J. Rausch sent a solo home run to left center to start the day for Ohio, but he was not the only one contributing. Spencer Harbert collected three hits, and Michael Richardson picked up two, one of which was a two-run home run.
Walks helped the Bobcats excel against the RedHawks. The Bobcats picked up eight walks and it gave them baserunners as needed. Had there not been as many walks, the Bobcats may not have had as many chances to score as they would have liked.
Saturday
Ohio kicked the double header off with the seven-inning game, which it lost 5-1. There wasn’t much else that Ohio could have done to pick up the win in game one other than cut down Miami’s few big innings.
The Bobcats outhit the RedHawks eight to seven, but they did not have a single big inning. There was only one instance where the Bobcats had back-to-back hits, but it came late in the seventh inning when the game was too far gone. The Bobcats could have fared better had they had better offense.
Game two went better for Ohio. Hudson Boncal allowed one run in his six-inning start and struck out a career-high 11 batters. The bats supported the freshman, and Ohio was on its way to a win.
That was, until Miami caught up on a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Bobcats had to shift into high gear in the top of the tenth inning to ensure they would not face a double header sweep. Rausch led the inning off with a triple to place one runner in scoring position for the Bobcats. However, he did not hang out long before Colin Kasperbauer sent him home on a go-ahead sacrifice fly to give the Bobcats a 10-9 victory.
Sunday
The RedHawks held the lead with tenacity Sunday afternoon to defeat the Bobcats 9-7.
Miami tied the game in the bottom of the second and soon captured the lead in the third on a home run by David Novak. Novak later added to Miami’s lead with an RBI ground-rule double and a sacrifice fly for his second and third RBIs of the day. With Novak’s help and a few other home runs, Miami was unstoppable.
Only one of Ohio’s pitchers made it out unscathed Sunday. Starter Brenden Roder was shaken for five runs, reliever Tyler Peck for three and Zach Weber for one. Adam Beery was the only Ohio pitcher to not give up a run after he struck out all three batters in his lone inning on the mound.
There were a few bright spots in the loss, though. Both Isaiah Peterson and Nick Dolan had three hits and two RBIs. One of Peterson’s hits was a solo home run, his fourth of the season.
Right now, Ohio is in the spot to earn a bid to the Mid-American Conference Tournament. However, it does not rank much higher than the fifth- and sixth-place teams. With only three more series to go, including one against heavy-hitter Ball State, Ohio is going to need to play with precision the rest of the season.
