Despite dropping five of their last six games, the Bobcats are hoping a little mid-season fun will help cure their recent woes.
Ohio (15-20, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) will host three events this weekend and hopes to bounce back into the win column against conference-worst Akron (13-22-1, 0-8 MAC) in two games Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
“We need to have a short memory,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “And we need to work on details of our game this weekend against Akron. These last few games just need to be used as a growing experience.”
To begin the weekend, the Bobcats are holding the first ever Ohio Softball Home Run Derby at the Ohio Softball Field. The event will feature popular student-athletes and coaches from other Bobcat sports. Representatives from the men’s basketball, wrestling, soccer and field hockey teams are expected to be in attendance.
“I wanted to produce something that was going to bring some student athletes’ camaraderie together out on the field and give them a chance to have fun swinging a bat and seeing who can hit the most home runs,” Hermanek said.
The event will begin at 4 p.m. and will conclude before the start of the baseball game.
After the entertainment Friday evening, Ohio will resume MAC play Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Zips.
The Bobcats are looking to continue their four-game winning streak against Akron and break their own four-game losing streak after suffering two losses to Miami last weekend and also a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Marshall Wednesday.
The Zips, who are also riding a four-game losing streak, have not had much success on the road, as they are only 1-7 as the road team.
But when it comes to hitting, their record may be deceiving.
Akron holds a team batting average of .293, and five Zips own batting averages of at least .300.
Pitching, however, has not been nearly as successful. The staff has walked 79 batters and has an earned-run average of 4.48 in 36 games.
The Bobcats, who were outscored 27-6 during Wednesday’s doubleheader, are hoping to regroup against the Zips and get back to the top of the conference standings.
“We just beat ourselves up,” Hermanek said. “You can’t expect anyone to win a ballgame or two games when you give up sixteen walks and you don’t have the defense behind you. That’s our fault for giving them those free opportunities.”
Expected to pitch in the two games for the Bobcats will be freshmen Lauren McClary (9-11) and Caitlin Colvin (3-4), while they will face off against Brittany Maurer (11-17) and Kinsi Tellep (1-2) of Akron. Maurer leads Akron with 88 strikeouts on the season.
With a win this weekend, Hermanek will move into sole possession of fourth place on Ohio’s all-time wins list with 84.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
