After sweeping rival Miami for the first time since 2009 on Friday, Ohio looked to be cruising through Mid-American Conference play. That was until the team traveled to play Ball State on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cardinals came ready to play and permitted Ohio’s offense just five hits in a pair of shutouts. Ball State also brought its bats against the MAC-leading Bobcats and scored 10 runs Saturday and seven Sunday.
Coming into the series with Ball State, no one in the MAC seemed to have an answer for Ohio ace Savannah Jo Dorsey. That changed early in the first game, though, as the Cardinals proceeded to score eight runs in the first three innings.
Ball State used an aggressive approach against Dorsey, routinely jumping on the first pitch.
It marked the first time in MAC play that Dorsey, a sophomore pitcher, has had difficulties. Part of that might have resulted from Dorsey’s workload coming into the game. On Friday, she pitched 14 innings in two games at Miami.
“I think we asked a lot of her from Friday to Saturday, but she’s a competitor that came out and tried to give her best for the team,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “Was she her sharpest? No, but … I think she did her best to dig in and give us her best.”
The Cardinals’ lineup produced from top to bottom, as eight players combined for nine hits. They came into the series leading the MAC in almost every batting category including batting average at .322.
In comparison, Ohio has only one hitter batting better than that mark in sophomore shortstop Amanda Dalton, who is batting .333.
The Bobcats were only able to manage two hits off sophomore pitcher Nicole Steinbach on Saturday. She wasn’t overly dominant, though, as she struck out just four batters.
The same story held true for Sunday’s game, as Ohio only recorded three hits off sophomore pitcher Kelsey Schifferdecker.
The Cardinals’ offense again produced throughout, with seven hitters combining for eight hits.
The run production came from four different Cardinal hitters, including first baseman Taylor Rager, who had a three run blast in the third.
In both games, the Bobcats got out to a slow start, but that isn’t something unusual for Ohio — especially in the second weekend series. What was unusual was how the team responded unlike normal.
Now that Ohio is no longer off to its best MAC start since 2001, it’s a matter of how the Bobcats will respond to end the final two weeks of the season.
Ultimately, the series against Ball State could prove to be the turning point.
“We can’t let this sit and harbor in our systems for a long time,” Hermanek said. “Moving forward means sharpening our game up and getting ourselves back into a good swinging rhythm.”
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Fast Facts
Saturday: Ball State 10, Ohio 0 (Five innings)
Sunday: Ball State 7, Ohio 0
Ohio’s record is now 25-19 overall and 10-4 in MAC play.
Ball State stands at 27-16 and 7-3 in the MAC.
