Ohio took Bowling Green down to the last out on Friday. At first, it seemed as though Ohio had a clear shot to win, but Adam Fallon’s second home run of the day locked Ohio out of a victory. Bowling Green handed Ohio its 10th loss of the season 5-4.
The Bobcats relied on the middle of their lineup to spark some action. Starter Luke Olson had dished out two clean innings to give the bats a chance.
With one out on the board in the bottom of the second, Alec Patino knocked his first home run of the day into right field. Patino’s solo shot was the only hit of the inning, as it was sandwiched between two strikeouts and a later flyout.
However, it didn’t take the Falcons long to get a run of their own. The Falcons worked to get runners on the corners and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Johnston in the top of the third.
The run shook the Bobcats, and it caused them to give up two more runs in the inning on a pickoff attempt. Mason Minzey overthrew first base and the Falcons ran home as the ball rolled into shallow right field.
“We can’t let a play like that early in the game end up determining whether we win or lose,” Ohio coach Craig Moore said. “There’s plenty of time left in the game to get back runs.”
Bowling Green was ecstatic after it took the lead. The dugout bounced around to the music in between innings, and it seemed as if Bowling Green thought it had secured a win — until Patino got back up to the plate.
Patino sent his second home run into right field just mere feet away from his first. The junior brought himself and Colin Kasperbauer home on the hit. Kasperbauer had previously reached on an error by Nathan Rose.
“It’s a huge addition to have Alec in the middle right there,” Moore said. “He had two good swings today and he’s definitely a guy that can generate some offense for us.”
The Bobcats had their swagger back now that the game was tied. They put together two more clean innings and chipped away at the Falcons’ pride. The Bobcats turned the Falcons’ joy into frustration by the end of the sixth inning.
Once again, the middle of Ohio’s lineup took control. A.J. Rausch hit a leadoff double to place a runner on base. Rausch didn’t hang around long, though. In the next at-bat, Kasperbauer hit a single into right field to give Ohio the lead.
Despite Ohio’s best efforts, it wasn’t able to finish out the game the way it wanted to. The bats froze and didn’t back up Olson or his reliever, Braxton Kelly.
“Luke gave us an opportunity to win the game. He came in and filled up the zone. It’s what you want out of a Friday guy,” Moore said. “If he can give us at least five innings every Friday, we feel pretty good about where we’re at.”
Olson’s seven innings were the best outing of a Bobcat pitcher this season. He allowed four runs and four hits, while striking out seven. Olson has the best ERA of the three Bobcat pitchers who qualify with a 5.82.
Olson was not charged with the loss, however, as Kelly was the one who gave up Fallon’s second home run.
The loss stung. Ohio opened conference play with a close loss on its own field, but it gets two more cracks at Bowling Green this weekend. Ohio has to bounce back to make it out of its first Mid-American Conference series with its head above water.
“I told those guys to take it personal how (the Falcons) were jumping around out there winning the game and things like that. We’ve got to come back,” Moore said.
