The senior outfielder is hitting in the clutch this season for Ohio.
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In the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday night, with two outs and the bases loaded in an 8-8 tie with rival Marshall, Ohio’s hottest hitter dug in. A few pitches later, the bases were cleared on a triple to the left center wall and the Bobcats were on their way to an 11-8 victory.
Many hitters may have gripped the bat too tightly in that high-pressure situation or viewed the ball as a white speck that would be nearly impossible to hit.
These days, Tyler Wells isn’t experiencing anything like that.
“The ball right now looks like a beach ball coming in,” the senior outfielder said. “Right now I’m just hitting the ball really well and fouling off the pitches I don’t want and getting fastballs that I want to hit.”
Wells will look to continue his rampant hitting pace this weekend as Ohio hosts Western Michigan (8-12) for a trio of afternoon games in its first home Mid-American Conference series this season.
Friday’s game will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a pair of 1 p.m. starts Saturday and Sunday.
Ohio’s 6-foot-7 left fielder has been a key contributor to the Bobcats’ offense all season.
In 20 games, Wells has a .355 average on 27 hits, including four doubles, a triple and four homeruns. He leads the team in homeruns, RBIs (24) and total bases (45).
As a freshman, Wells held a promising average of .315, but slowed down to hit just .251 and .288 in his sophomore and junior years, respectively.
“I’m happy for him because he’s a very, very hard worker. The kid’s been working his butt off for the whole time that I’ve been here and I’m sure before that,” coach Rob Smith said.
Smith said Wells spends a significant amount of additional time in the batting cages and is being rewarded for his efforts. During his current four-game hitting streak, Wells has gone 7-for-17 (.412 average) with nine RBIs.
Wells is leading the charge, but Ohio (13-9) as a whole has been finding ways on base recently. The team registered 20 hits and 10 walks combined during its consecutive home games against Xavier and Marshall this week.
The Bobcats’ surge of offense has helped back up their very inconsistent pitching staff, which has gotten just 5 2/3 innings from its starting pitchers in the past two games and used eight different relievers in that time.
Smith was proud of his relief pitchers’ efficiency, particularly junior Jake Miller and senior Logan Cozart, because they kept their pitch counts low. It will be important for Ohio to have as many pitchers available as possible for the weekend to provide options for the coaching staff if the starters go awry.
Amid a stretch of five games in a matter of six days, the Bobcats can take Thursday’s off-day as a chance to savor their dramatic Wednesday night win before looking forward to Western Michigan. The Broncos will come to The Wren having lost five of their last six contests.
“It’s just huge going into the weekend,” Wells said of Wednesday’s win. “We’ve had three losses in a row now, so this win especially against rival Marshall is huge going into this weekend in (Mid-American Conference) play.”
@JordanHorrobin
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