West Virginia State’s trip to Bob Wren Stadium marked not only Ohio’s first home game of the season but also a homecoming trip for one of the visitors.
Tyler Thompson, a sophomore infielder and pitcher for West Virginia State, returned to his old stomping grounds when he entered the game in the top of the ninth. But by then, the Yellow Jackets were well on their way to a 12-3 loss to the Bobcats.
Back in his youth baseball days, Thompson frequented the field at Bob Wren Stadium, playing in tournaments with Federal Hocking High School and during American Legion summer ball.
Tuesday marked his second return trip to Athens since moving to the Mountaineer State.
“It’s even sweeter to come back for the second year in a row now and even get some playing time,” he said. “It was pretty fun. It feels good to be home because I haven’t been home in a long time.”
Unfortunately for Thompson, his NCAA Division II Yellow Jackets (2-7) were unable to weather the Bobcats’ offensive onslaught. Ohio struck early and often, racking up seven runs in the first two innings. From there, West Virginia State was able to stifle the Bobcats’ bats a bit but never mustered enough offense of its own to make the game competitive.
Ohio (4-7) used four pitchers in the outing, with starter Shane Dedig picking up his first win of the year. Twelve Bobcats had multiple at-bats, as coach Joe Carbone is taking his time sorting through his team’s lineup.
“We’re still taking a look at guys and are still learning how to play the game,” Carbone said. “We’re still trying to figure out who our team is and who fits in where.”
Tuesday’s outing left little doubt that right fielder Jensen Painter has hollowed out a spot in the lineup. The senior had five RBIs on the day as a result of a home run, a pair of doubles and a single.
“My approach is, ‘Just keep it simple.’ ” Painter said. “I got some good pitches to hit, and I didn’t really let that go. If you have one good pitch to hit in an at-bat, I want to capitalize on that.”
Carbone said Painter could continue to contribute heavily if he consistently develops an outlook at the plate similar to the one he had against the Yellow Jackets.
“He’s been swinging the bat well all year, but he’s just been hitting the ball at people,” Carbone said. “Our big thing with him is sometimes he gets too particular in what he swings at, and I’ve told him to be a little bit more aggressive in what he’s looking at.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
