The Bobcats will host the Akron ZIps in a three-game set at Bob Wren Stadium.
With less than a month in the regular season, Ohio has yet to find an identity for itself.
In some games, pitching has struggled, while the offense comes through. In other games, the offense has struggled, while the pitching shines.
At the time being, all that doesn’t seem to matter.
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The Bobcats (23-15, 8-7 in the Mid-American Conference) find themselves in fifth place in the Mid-American Conference, which would garner them a spot in the conference tournament, a place they haven’t visited since 2012.
They’ll have a chance to prove themselves against one of the best teams in the conference as they take on Akron (19-19, 9-6 in the Mid-American Conference) this weekend. The Zips are currently tied for second place in the conference.
Ohio is fresh off their first shutout win in three years, as Logan Jacik, Spencer Sapp, Christian Botter, Corey Wells, Tom Colletti, and Logan Cozart combined to shutout Eastern Kentucky.
Not to be outdone, the offense had a good day at the plate, putting six runs on the board. First basemen Jake Madsen hit his first home run of the season, going two for four on the day with three runs batted in. Outfielders Manny DeJesus and Mitch Longo also helped the offensive effort.
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Though it hasn’t happened many times before this season, the Bobcats will have to put it all together again this weekend against Akron.
Ohio will look to keep Akron senior outfielder Joey Havrilak off the base paths. Havrilak leads the Zips in just about every offensive category, including hits, triples, home runs, runs batted in, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
That could be tall task for Ohio’s pitching staff, whose earned run average nearly touches five. Since head coach Rob Smith has leaned mainly on pitching by committee this season, it could be up to pitchers such as Cozart, Wells, and Christian Botter to shut down the opposing offense once again.
Those three relief pitchers have a combined earned run average of 2.45. Cozart leads the team with a 4-1 record, seven saves, and 50 strikeouts.
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The Bobcats’ offense looks for big contributions from Madsen once again. Not only could he help Ohio move up in the Mid-American Conference standings, he could also make program history.
The senior first baseman is five hits away from becoming Ohio’s all-time leader. Currently, his 265 hits are good for fourth in program history.
Longo will look to also play a huge part in the Bobcats’ offense this weekend. The sophomore outfielder leads the team in hits, home runs, and runs batted in.
The three-game set begins Friday at 6 pm at Bob Wren Stadium. It continues on Saturday at 3 pm and Sunday at 1 pm.
@efelderstein14
