Joe Carbone has watched a lot of quality baseball players move through Ohio in his 21 years as coach.
But ·Marc Krauss might be the best of all.
He's definitely one of the finest players to play at Ohio University
Carbone said. I've played with and coached against some greats.
You know I value my own opinion pretty highly.
The star outfielder from Deshler broke the school's single-season home run record on Sunday against Miami when he hit his 21st homer of the season.
The home run also pushed Krauss into second place on the career home run list with 39. He needs five more homers to move into 10th place in the Mid-American Conference for his career.
His 21 homers this season is the eighth-best mark in conference history. Kent State's John Van Benschoten had 31 in 2001.
He leads the Bobcats with 60 RBIs on the season along with 12 doubles that all add up to an.815 slugging percentage.
The junior doesn't just hit for power.
He's batting.408 to go with a team-high 37 walks. Carbone said Krauss' versatility is what makes him a dangerous hitter.
Marc's the whole package, he said. If he's not driving in runs, he at least walks or gets on base.
I want guys that score or knock in runs. He's that kind of guy.
Krauss's record-breaking home run pushed Ohio's lead against the RedHawks to ·9-7 in the seventh inning. The Bobcats went on to take the rubber match for their first MAC series win in three weeks.
Ohio(25-21, 15-9 MAC) secured a spot in the MAC Tournament, but the last conference series with Buffalo looms with a Thursday start. A sweep could push Ohio higher in the tournament seeding and even to a regular season championship if Kent State and Bowling Green falter.
Carbone hopes to use today's 6 p.m. game with Cincinnati·(26-26, 11-13 Big East) as an opportunity to continue exposing his younger players to real-game situations.
There's nothing on the line other than you want to get used to winning he said. A game is always better than practice. It keeps your game speed sharp.
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Dylan Scott
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