The first 28 games have provided the kindling for the season that awaits Ohio softball in the Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule.
The Bobcats will begin their MAC campaign against a pair of directional Michigan teams: Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Coach Jodi Hermanek hopes that the non-conference slate has provided the right spar.
Traveling across the country to start the season, the Bobcats have faced a variety of tough competition and have fared well against some of the nation’s top talent. Ohio has taken down the likes of Iowa, Ohio State, South Carolina and Northwestern State. The latter two made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
“Getting on the field with some of the best teams in the nation and some top-quality postseason teams means that when you win against them you are ready to play against anybody in the conference,” Hermanek said. “We just have to go play our game no matter who is on the other side of the field.”
First up for Ohio is a doubleheader on Friday against Eastern Michigan, which entered the MAC season on a slide after dropping 13 of 15 games. Eastern Michigan has had trouble scoring all year as it averages fewer than three runs per game, compared to their opponents’ six-run average.
That is a must-get for the Bobcats, as the Eagles pose some of the easiest competition of the season. Not only is Eastern Michigan poor at the plate by just hitting .201 as a team, but they are poor in the circle as well. They hold the conference’s worst-earned run average at 5.05.
“We can’t let down for the bottom-level teams, we can’t gear up for the top level teams,” coach Hermanek said. “We have to just play our game and that’s what we have been talking about for a while now. When we do that we’re the best team we can be.”
After the pair of games with Eastern Michigan, the Bobcats will make the two-hour trip north to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to take on Central Michigan.
Unlike the Eagles, the Chippewas pose a more significant threat; they were picked in the preseason to win the MAC. They return a veteran squad led by junior third baseman Trista Cox, who reached the NCAA tournament a season ago. The Louisville transfer leads the team in nearly every statistical category batting at a .366 clip with seven home runs and 19 runs batted in.
Ohio pitchers sophomore Savanah Jo Dorsey and junior Lauren McClary will look to contain the Chippewas’ potent offense, which have five players hitting over .300 on the season. The duo’s batterymate, freshman catcher Madison Claytor, thinks they will call on their non-conference experience.
“I think we played a really strong schedule before we’re getting to conference,” Claytor said. “I think that’s really going to help us prepare for the tough competition we have ahead based on the pitchers and offenses we have faced previously.”
UP NEXT:
Ohio (15-13) at
Eastern Michigan (8-16)
When: Friday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Ohio at Central Michigan (17-9)
When: Saturday at 2 p.m. and
Sunday at 3 p.m.
@kovarandrew
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