Ohio (16-31, 11-16 Mid-American Conference) wrapped up its road schedule this past weekend with a series victory against its storied rival, Miami (25-23, 17-13 MAC). The Bobcats were able to come out on top in two of three games against the Redhawks, but needing to win out for any hope of a tournament spot, the team's sole loss ultimately eliminated them from postseason contention.
After a close Friday night loss, Ohio bounced back with back-to-back wins in two of its most thrilling games of the season.
Game One
The first game of the series between Ohio and Miami was the lowest-scoring game of the weekend, ending in a 4-3 victory that favored Miami. Pitching and defense were the storylines as each team's ace took the mound.
For Ohio, it was Dillon Masters who turned in one of his most effective starts of the season, lasting five-and-a-third innings before being relieved by Luke Olson in the sixth. Masters walked five batters, leading to 3 total runs being scored against him.
An error on third baseman Nick Dolan led to a run in the fourth for the Redhawks, an unearned run charged to Masters. In a 1-run game, this error would later prove costly to Ohio.
Senior Luke Olson came in relief of Masters and was later credited with the loss after surrendering a walk-off hit in the ninth.
Miami’s Lukas Galdoni trotted to the mound in the first and proceeded to deliver yet another quality start for his team. Galdoni out-pitched Masters with seven-and-a-third innings pitched, allowing 3 earned runs before being relieved by a Miami bullpen that has excelled on the year.
Offensively, Ohio did what it could against Miami’s best pitchers but was ultimately bested, tallying only six total hits. Senior Nick Dolan led the team with two hits and an RBI.
Game Two
Game two played out opposite to that of game one for Ohio. The Bobcats mounted a 9-0 lead before the Redhawks got on the board*. In the end, Ohio would score an impressive 14 runs to Miami’s 5.
Offensively, it was a team effort led by Alex Finney and AJ Rausch who both had four RBIs and three hits. Finney came through with a grand slam in the second while Rausch had a base-clearing double in the first. The Bobcats had four players with multiple RBI in the game, including home runs from Finney and Rausch.
Tyler Peck took the mound for his first start of the season against Miami after pitching out of the bullpen all year. Peck went five total innings, allowing 3 runs before being relieved by Adam Beery in the sixth.
For Miami, it was a nightmare start for sophomore Nick Vardavas, who couldn’t make it through the second inning before allowing 6 earned runs and being relieved by Peyton Olejnik, who pitched a majority of the innings.
The Bobcats tallied 14 total hits on the day en route to one of its most lopsided victories in the conference all season.
Game Three
Ohio played one of its most resilient games of the season in the series finale, winning by a final of 12-11 after falling behind 7-0 after the first two innings, earning the series advantage.
Blake Gaskey was responsible for Miami’s early onslaught, allowing 7 runs before getting pulled from the game with two outs in the second. Command was an issue for Gaskey, as he allowed 2 runs to score on back-to-back hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded.
Redshirt Junior Ryland Zaborowski led the way for the Redhawks offense, turning in yet another impressive game to add to his historic season. Against Ohio on Sunday, Zaborowski tallied a game-leading five RBIs with four hits, two of which were home runs.
Caleb Karll sparked the Ohio offense with a three-RBI double in the third inning that cut Miami’s deficit to four. However, most of Ohio’s run production came in the eighth inning when the team faced a 6-run deficit. In one inning alone, Ohio eliminated the deficit to take the lead following an 8-run eighth inning.
It was a whole team effort in the eighth with six different players recording RBIs in the inning. Nick Dolan ultimately delivered the most important at-bat of the game with a three-RBI double to take the lead in the inning.
Luke Olson bounced back after allowing a walk-off in game one with four quality innings to close out the game on Sunday and the series against Miami. Olson entered the game with a 6-run deficit and shut down the Miami offense by allowing only three hits in four innings to allow Ohio time to come back late.
Olson was credited with a much-deserved win, his first of the season.
