The Ohio baseball team plays host to Dayton tonight to wrap up what has proven to have been a successful stint at home.
Ohio (15-14 overall, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) has won 12 of its last 14 contests and took two-of-three from Marshall last weekend.
After starting the season 3-12, Ohio has relied on many different factors to fuel the team's current hot streak.
Despite many players contributing to the team's success, there have been two constant contributors-the hitting of catcher Ben Crabtree and pitching of starter Derek Witt.
Following his reign as MAC East Player of the Week, Crabtree continued to put up great offensive numbers. Crabtree hit 7-11 last weekend against Marshall, including two home runs and seven RBIs. He is currently eighth on Ohio's all-time home run list with 28 and third for hits with 236.
While the awards are appreciated, Crabtree talked about the team's quest for postseason play.
Number one goal right now is to make it to the MAC Tournament
Crabtree said.
On the defensive end, Witt has been leading the pitching corps with two quality starts in a row. Witt's last win, a complete game, came last Friday when Ohio defeated Marshall 12-3, giving Ohio coach Joe Carbone his 500th coaching victory with Ohio.
You got to love the run support Witt said. We've been hitting the ball pretty well all year and it just really came together today.
Infielder Jon Vondrell played a large role in last weekend's success, belting a three-run homer, the first home run of his career, to give Ohio a 7-4 advantage.
We need to keep this up and keep our momentum going Vondrell said. We've won 12 of our last 14
just keep that up.
Carbone also talked about the keys that have allowed Ohio to be successful this season.
We go with pitching and defense
Carbone said. If you have good pitching and defense
it's always there.
Ohio finishes its 10-game home stand 6 p.m. tonight as the team plays Dayton at Bob Wren Stadium.
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