Because they maintain their own field, the Bobcats are used to breaking out the brooms after each game. But this weekend, Ohio had every reason to relish the extra legwork while cleaning up the diamond.
Low scores and hit totals led to a three-game sweep of Buffalo, which is near the top of the Mid-American Conference in most offensive statistical categories.
The sweep was Ohio’s fourth MAC series win of the season and marked the first time since 2009 that the Bobcats have won four of their first five conference series.
Much of the credit can be attributed to Ohio’s starting pitching, which stuck around for a combined 22 innings and allowed only seven earned runs.
Junior hurler Seth Streich capped off the weekend with a stellar performance in a complete game. Streich, who has been recovering from hamstring and oblique injuries, racked up 10 strikeouts and allowed only four hits and two walks in the Bobcats’ 4-1 victory.
“When the team’s doing well without you and you can come back and contribute to the success that they’re already having is a big point for me,” Streich said.
Ohio senior right fielder Jensen Painter roped a triple off the wall in center to kick-start the Bobcat offense in the first inning. He scored on the next play — a single off the bat of freshman first baseman Jake Madsen.
In the second, freshman second baseman Ian Mezlak reached first on a passed-ball strikeout and later scored on a bases-loaded single by senior center fielder Ethan Newton.
The rally continued as senior designated hitter Doug Holmes scored on a passed ball, and junior third baseman Dan Schmidt forced a full-count walk.
The Bobcats had the bases loaded with no outs before Bulls pitcher Michael Burke forced an easy pop-up and a pair of Ohio strikeouts.
“That point of emphasis is so bad where the boys are so tired of hearing me say it,” Ohio coach Joe Carbone said about the need to cash in on scoring opportunities.
The Bulls didn’t break through on the base paths until the seventh, when they tallied their first run of the game on a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield. But Streich fired back by rocking a pair of strikeouts to get out of the inning.
The Bobcats survived a scare in the eighth inning, where Streich hit a batter and gave up a single in the next at bat to put runners on the corners. He was able to make it out of the inning without a scratch, though, after forcing a weak grounder up the middle with two outs.
“I think Buffalo’s offense is number one in the MAC, and our pitching staff is number one in the MAC, so it was a good conference weekend for us,” Streich said. “We weren’t too worried about their pitching, but we knew as long as we did our job on the mound like we have been that we were going to be fine.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
