COLUMBUS — Ohio’s offense had established itself as one of the best in the Mid-American Conference, but it failed to show up against arguably the Bobcats’ toughest opponent of the season.
Although Ohio’s pitchers minimized Ohio State’s offensive chances, the Bobcats’ offense never cracked the Buckeyes’ pitching. Ohio was the victim of Ohio State’s first shutout of 2018 in its 4-0 defeat on Tuesday at Bill Davis Stadium.
Ohio managed just four hits off Ohio State. Jake Vance, the Buckeyes’ starting pitcher, recorded a career-high six strikeouts. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up three hits and one walk.
Ohio’s only offensive chance occurred in the second inning after second baseman Aaron Levy doubled with no outs. Shortstop Trevor Hafner followed with a bunt single to advance Levy to third base, but a pair of strikeouts and a shallow fly out spoiled the opportunity.
The Bobcats managed just five baserunners the rest of the game.
Coach Rob Smith tipped his cap to Vance for escaping the jam and shutting out Ohio, but he expressed concern over the state of the Bobcats’ offense. After a hot start to the season, the Bobcats have managed just three runs in their last three games.
“We haven’t had any rhythm for three games,” Smith said. “We’ve got a few hitters right now that have lost their aggressiveness, and they’re getting themselves in bad counts.”
Ohio State was held to eight hits, but unlike Ohio, Ohio State managed to capitalize on its scoring chances.
Ohio’s deficit began in the fifth inning after right-hander Eddie Kutt loaded the bases with two outs. Noah McGowan, whose .412 batting average was tied for 10th in the NCAA before Tuesday, squeaked a ground ball through the infield to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead. The Buckeyes continued their two-out outburst and built a 3-0 lead with another RBI single from Conner Pohl.
Ohio State (21-10, 3-3 Big Ten Conference) extended its lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on a groundout from Jacob Barnwell. After giving up a single to Brady Cherry, Ohio right-hander Nick Kamrada had an opportunity to turn a double play and end the inning, but Barnwell beat out Hafner’s throw from second base to score Cherry and give the Buckeyes a 4-0 cushion.
Kutt suffered his first career loss for the Bobcats (15-15, 3-3 MAC), but Smith wasn’t disappointed in the freshman’s outing. The right-hander pitched two innings and gave up three earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two batters.
“The biggest thing we tell our pitchers is to make the other team earn what they get,” Smith said. “It took them four hits to get those runs. We challenged them and forced them to swing the bat.”
Ohio will look to bounce back against Shawnee State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium.
