For a team ranked dead last in hitting in the Mid-American Conference, Ohio has been able to find some bright spots during the past week of games.
Infielders Jared Willis and Bryant Witt have been doing more than anchoring the middle of the defense, the two have combined to bat .478 (11-23) during the recent stretch of wins that dates back to a win against Miami two Sundays ago.
Last season, the 4-6 combination batted just under .300. Willis was ninth on the team with a .287 clip while Witt batted .279, good enough for tenth. Meanwhile, last year's All-American, pitcher and designated hitter, Anthony Gressick, is batting .142 points lower than his team second-best .377 average of a year ago. Catcher Ben Crabtree is hovering around .250, .060 points lower than his average of a year ago.
The rise of Witt and Willis can be attributed to the extra year of experience the two have picked up since starting a combined 81 games as freshmen last season. Yet a team returning all but one starter on offense was expected by many to win games with its bats. But to this point, the team has scored the second least runs among MAC schools while the pitching and fielding rest in the bottom half of the MAC.
Yet despite all that All that matters in baseball, however, is winning games, and the Bobcats continued to climb closer to .500 on the season on Sunday when Ohio defeated conference rival Kent State.
The team did reach the .500 mark in conference play with the victory.
Making the feat more impressive is the two teams Ohio played in the first two opening series of MAC play. Ohio took 1-of-3 from Miami while beating the Golden Flashes in the only game played between the two. Miami was the preseason favorite to win the conference while Kent State was picked second, one spot ahead of Ohio.
And the other Witt Pitcher Bryant Witt has taken over the role of the ace of the staff, assuming a role that only Chris Bova could fill last season.
Witt managed 8 2/3 innings against Kent State, the longest outing of any Bobcat pitcher this season. This comes just one week after he went eight innings against Miami in game one of that series.
On the season, Witt has amassed more than 10 innings more than any other pitcher, pitching 35 2/3 total innings.
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Kyle Jepson
