Gauntlett Eldemire knew the ball was gone after it left the bat.
With the score tied 8-8 in the bottom of the ninth and two outs, Eldemire stepped to the plate just looking for something to hit. The sophomore drove the second pitch he saw off of the batter's eye in straight away centerfield to give Ohio a 9-8 win over Pittsburgh yesterday at Bob Wren Stadium.
I was just looking for a strike
Eldemire said. It felt good.
It was my first walk-off, I think.
Baseball is a game where every inning matters and this game was no different.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead against the Panthers scoring six runs in the second inning. Ohio took advantage of a two-out error by Panthers third baseman Joe Leonard.
After the error the next seven batters reached base highlighted by Robert Maddox III's first home run of the season. The two-run homer hit off the scoreboard in right-center field.
The Bobcats (2-3) added insurance runs in the fourth and again in the seventh after Pitt runs in the fifth and seventh to bring the score to 8-4.
Pittsburgh started its half of the eighth inning with back-to-back singles
forcing Bobcat pitcher Adam Goodpasture from the mound. Kevin Mementowski came into the game and after two hits
an error
and a couple of groundouts
the score was tied at 8-8.
We had some opportunities early to pile up some runs to put them away, coach Joe Carbone said. It always ends up biting you in the rear end when that happens and it almost did with us.
The Panthers (1-3) threatened for the second straight inning in the ninth. With Mementowski still on the mound and one out
two singles put the go-ahead run on second base.
The next batter hit a low line drive toward left fielder Adam Gecewich. He made a diving catch to rob Pittsburgh of a hit and possibly the win
as he doubled the runner off second.
That was a big-time play, Carbone said. He's a young man that's worked hard and is an outfielder that we like. He's a good defensive outfielder.
He was ready to play so we stuck him in and he made the play.
Then came the Bobcats' ninth and Eldemire's blast.
That was a big win for us
Carbone said. We hung in there and when you hang in there long enough
you have a chance to win.
