Ohio opened its home schedule with a win Tuesday and will be looking to continue its success when Mid-American Conference play begins Friday.
The Bobcats open conference play with their second consecutive home doubleheader Friday against Bowling Green.
Following the short series against the Falcons, the Bobcats will not have much time to rest before they welcome Toledo for a two-game series beginning Saturday and concluding Sunday.
The 11-14 Bobcats are coming off a doubleheader on Tuesday against Eastern Kentucky, in which they split the series against the Colonels.
Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek said the Bobcats would not change their routine in preparation for another doubleheader on Friday.
“Absolutely nothing. Go to practice, go to work at practice and come out here and make sure we’re working on getting as close to our “A” game as we possibly can,” Hermanek said.
Defensively, Ohio should match up well against Bowling Green and Toledo as the Falcons and Rockets currently have .241 and .245 team batting averages, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats are one of the best defensive teams in the MAC, boasting a fielding percentage of .97.
Bowling Green comes to town having lost back-to-back games but still owns a 15-10 record overall.
The Falcons have found success in the pitching circle, where they boast a 2.01 ERA.
The Rockets enter their weekend series with the Bob on a three-game losing streak.
Like Ohio, Toledo will play a doubleheader on Friday against Akron before playing again on Saturday.
Hermanek said the team is excited to be home for the start of conference play.
“It feels really good to finally be here,” Hermanek said. “We’ve been on the road so much and it’s good to get a fresh quarter started, a fresh second half of our season started, and we’re looking forward to conference.”
Junior Lauren Gellerman said she actually enjoys playing the doubleheader on Friday instead of Saturday.
“It’s actually easier,” she said. “It’s like a relief so you work hard those first two days and then you just have one game on Saturday to prepare for. I think we’re really excited to get the season going, to start conference play and want to start off winning, start off strong.”
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