During the next 10 days Ohio will play 14 games and travel more than 1,800 miles, but coach Jodi Hermanek and the Bobcats are well-prepared and excited for the challenge.
The Bobcats (12-1) will begin their lengthy road trip this weekend in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Softball Classic and will play five games against as many teams for the second consecutive weekend.
“It is definitely going to be a toll on our bodies,” junior right fielder Adrienne Gebele said. “I love Spring Break, even though we don’t get a ‘break’, it’s our break from school and we get to go out and play the game we love.”
This weekend will mark the first time Ohio plays a nationally ranked opponent in No. 19 South Alabama. However, the Bobcats are off to their best start since finishing their inaugural season 11-0-1 in 1974.
Ohio’s handwork has already paid off; the team swept the Mid-American Conference East Division weekly awards for the second straight week. Juniors Lauren McClary and Gebele took home co-pitcher of the week and player of the week honors, respectively.
“For me, personally, it boosts my confidence, and it is a sense of accomplishment,” McClary said.
McClary recorded her first two wins last weekend, which was a sense of relief for her. She’s posted a 2.90 earned run average in 31 innings pitched thus far.
“As a pitcher, you don’t want to focus on your stats,” McClary said. “Yes, it is in the back of the mind, so once I knew it was my first win it was a sense of relief.”
Gebele, who boasts a team-best .456 batting average along with six doubles, felt her award came from her ability to produce for the team in clutch situations.
“Everyday you go out working hard for your team and I came up in a few situations where my team needed me to come through,” she said.
This weekend the Bobcats will encounter some of their toughest challenges yet, as they will play more challenging competition than during their first three weekends of play.
Ohio will open against South Alabama (11-1), which has won six straight games. The Bobcats will also play Chattanooga, Texas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Mississippi State.
“We want to do whatever it takes to win one game at a time,” Hermanek said. “We have a challenging weekend coming up in Mississippi, followed by a challenging mid weekend in Tennessee.”
Ohio has been able to stay in games and win by succeeding in clutch situations, despite losing its first game of the season last Friday in extra innings. That mentality will be crucial during the Bobcats’ upcoming stretch of games, according to Hermanek.
“It is just about always working to win,” she said. “(We) have been setting team goals to win every inning, (we) are working on winning the inning, this makes the game much more simple.”
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