Rob Smith gathered his players outside the dugout Sunday at Bob Wren Stadium. Before Smith dove into his speech after Ohio concluded its weekend series with Bowling Green, players clapped and hollered in excitement and perhaps a little relief.
Smith and the Bobcats were celebrating their 12-4 win against the Falcons that gave Ohio its first Mid-American Conference series win of the year. The Bobcats (7-18, 3-3 MAC) reversed nearly all of the negative trends that mired them in their 22 previous games to win two of three games against the Falcons, who were undefeated in the MAC before the series.
“It showed the ability to adjust and the resiliency to come in and stick to a plan,” Smith said. “It was the response we needed.”
Here are three takeaways from Ohio’s series win:
Offense heats up
Ohio entered the series with the worst offense in the MAC, and it wasn’t even close.
Before Friday, the Bobcats had a team batting average below .200 and just two starters — Rudy Rott and Trevor Lukkes — with a batting average over .260. Ohio needed to squeeze every form of production out of its baserunners, who seldom advanced past second base anyway.
But the Bobcats flipped the trend in a big way against Bowling Green. Ohio scored 24 combined runs Saturday and Sunday and handed BGSU’s pitching, which ranked in the top half of the MAC, its second worst weekend of its season.
The Bobcats deserve credit for their combined 38 hits against the Falcons, but what helped Ohio the most was the timeliness of its offense.
Sunday was the best example. Ohio pummeled BGSU with a five-run third inning that contained just two hits from the Bobcats, who benefitted from three batters being hit by a pitch, two wild pitches and a walk.
The Falcons cycled through three pitchers in the inning, and both changes happened after the Bobcats recorded a hit that either scored a run or advanced a runner into scoring position.
It wasn’t pretty, but Ohio made the most of its opportunity to blow a game open. That’s been a rarity for the Bobcats.
“We had enough discipline to let some things happen,” Smith said. “We centered a bunch of other hits around that, and it led to a big day.”
Sunday starter spot is open
Ohio gave Braxton Kelly his second collegiate start and first weekend start in Sunday’s series finale. The Bobcats started Joe Rock in previous Sunday games, so Kelly’s start suggested that Smith was making a change in the weekend rotation.
In the future, though, it likely won’t be Kelly with the start. The freshman lasted just two outs and allowed two runs on three hits before Smith opted for a change to Eddie Kutt.
In the end, it may be Kutt who wins the spot. The sophomore dazzled in his six innings from the bullpen and allowed just one run on three hits and recorded eight strikeouts, and his team-best 2.39 ERA in 26 innings this year builds more intrigue to Smith’s decision.
“The great thing about Eddie is that we can use him in a lot of different ways,” Smith said. “He’s versatile and could start, and that’s something that will certainly be in play, if needed.”
Kutt started two games for Ohio last year but has served primarily as a long reliever in his 74 collegiate innings and has excelled in high-pressure situations. That’s what kept Kutt from moving out of the bullpen, but that could change if no other pitcher emerges as a starting candidate.
Kutt hasn’t talked to Smith about a move to the rotation, but the right-hander said he doesn’t have a preference.
“I’m just happy to pitch whenever they need me,” Kutt said.
Ohio keeps pace with MAC’s best
No, the Bobcats are not in first place in the MAC, and it’s unlikely they ever will be this season.
But after six conference games, Ohio is in the middle of the standings and in the thick of the competition for a tournament spot. That seemed difficult when the Bobcats entered MAC play with a 4-14 record, and they’ve played well against two teams who entered the weekend at the top of the conference standings.
It’s still early, however, and tough to tell which teams are among the best in the MAC. Ohio is far from being in that conversation, but the Bobcats should pride themselves for not allowing a tough start to their season derail them from a decent start to MAC play.
