After consecutive weekends of league play, the Ohio baseball team has seen two of the best teams in the Mid-American Conference. This weekend, the MAC will get its first look at the real Ohio.
Riddled by injuries and subsequent position changes, the Bobcats (8-17 overall, 2-4 MAC) have stumbled out of the gates to open up the MAC schedule, taking one of three games against both Miami and Kent State. As they head to Eastern Michigan (14-11, 3-0 MAC) for a three-game set this weekend, a finally healthy Bobcats squad is looking to return to the form that garnered them a slew of preseason expectations.
We have to really bear down and play three good games
catcher Ben Crabtree said. In the last couple weekends we've played one good game and we haven't really been able to carry that out in the other two.
Crabtree, who returned to the lineup last weekend after being sidelined with a wrist injury, is one of several Ohio players who are getting closer to full strength.
I feel all right
Crabtree said. It's a little stiff after I play
but that's to be expected.
Like Crabtree, designated hitter Anthony Gressick and centerfielder Dan Lunsford returned to the lineup last weekend, but, still recovering, the duo went a combined 2-for-21 in the series.
Gressick, who is recovering from mononucleosis, said he is feeling more comfortable at the plate after the layoff.
I lost eleven pounds
and anytime you take a couple weeks off from your swing
it's going to go south
but I've been taking a lot of (batting practice) lately
and it's coming back slowly
he said.
If the swing was south last weekend, consider it returned north. Gressick picked up three hits and four runs batted in in Ohio's two non-conference games this week, including a triple and a home run.
The timing of the injuries could not have been much worse, as Ohio has faced a brutal early league schedule, facing Miami, the preseason pick to win the East Division, and Kent State, last season's regular season champ.
It was a tough break for us
because that's when all our guys were hurt
