Ohio manages to switch gears from the first two games of Kennesaw State Tournament to win the final two.
Ohio finished the weekend coming home from Georgia with a split.
The Bobcats dropped the first two games against No.13 Tennessee 5-0 and the hosting team Kennesaw State 7-2. Later in the weekend, Ohio walked off against Tennessee Tech and soundly beat Northern Kentucky.
Even though Ohio (2-2) struggled offensively for the first two games of the weekend, coach Jodi Hermanek said its defense was consistent throughout the entire tournament. Since the Bobcats did not have much offense in the Friday doubleheader, Hermanek also said on day two and three each hitter was looking to get more contact.
The most exciting game of the weekend came against Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
Ohio established a lead quickly in the second inning scoring three runs off three hits. It kept the lead until the Golden Eagles were able to score three runs over the fourth and fifth innings. With the game tied heading into the bottom of the seventh, Ohio did not want to allow Tennessee Tech another chance to score.
With one out and nobody on, junior Sloan Walker singled to right field to put the winning run on first. Soon after that, Walker was able to steal second to put the run in scoring position. The next batter was junior Amanda Dalton who singled up the middle to the pitcher, which moved Walker 60 feet away from giving the Bobcats a victory.
Feeling that the momentum was on its side, Ohio sent Mikayla Cooper to the plate hoping for a base hit, sacrifice fly or anything to send the runner home and give the Bobcats their first win of the season. Cooper ended up hitting a double with perfect placement that allowed Walker score and give Ohio the 4-3 win.
“We came into the Tennessee Tech game with more hunger,” Hermanek said. “Getting the first win allows the team to relax.”
The praise should not only go to the clutch offensive moments of this game, junior Savannah Jo Dorsey had a solid pitching performance going all seven innings and allowing only three earned runs.
Ohio ended the Kennesaw State Tournament with a convincing 10-2 victory over Northern Kentucky.
The woes of not getting enough contact were not present for Ohio as it totaled 13 hits over five innings. Contact was not the only thing the Bobcats utilized to get runners on base, they took advantage of balls outside of the strike zone to get five walks.
Ohio looks to ride this momentum into North Carolina as it participates in the UNC Charlotte Tournament next weekend.
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