Jerod Yakubik continued to treat opposing pitching as if he were a boxer pounding away on a punching bag.
Ohio's senior first baseman extended his hitting streak to 20 games and scored what turned out to be the winning run as the Bobcats (12-26) beat Cleveland State (9-29) 2-1 yesterday at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
(Yakubik)'s not only big at the plate
but he's been playing great defense at first base picking throws from infielders said coach Joe Carbone. He's been big for us. He's been solid and consistent hitting and doing everything we ask him to do.
Yakubik reached base four times. An infield single to second base extended his streak in the first inning, but he and the team did the bulk of its damage a few frames later.
Trailing 1-0 after an RBI double by Tyler Winn in the first inning, the Bobcats started the third inning when Wesley O'Neill reached on an error. Yakubik followed that with a single to right field - his second hit in as many at bats. The runners executed a double steal, with O'Neill swiping third and Yakubik moving to second.
Wes got a good read on his looks
picked it up and took off and Jerod followed
Carbone said.
Gauntlett Eldemire scored O'Neill on a sacrifice fly and Bryan Barnes' RBI single to center field scored Yakubik. The Bobcat pitchers did the rest as the Vikings had a few opportunities but could not manage another run.
As a whole
I thought we played very well
Carbone said. We played good defense. We hit some balls hard at some people with men on base a couple times and
we couldn't break the game open
but I thought we all did a good job.
Brock Trimbur recorded the win. He started the game and went three innings. Following the theme of most mid-week games, Carbone used a bevy of relievers to finish off the Vikings.
Junior Ben Trimbur, freshman Andrew Danko and sophomore Michael Dillon got Ohio through the seventh, and senior Rex Ingham worked the final two frames to pick up the save. Bobcat pitchers allowed seven hits and just one walk on the afternoon.
Cleveland State committed six errors as the Bobcats avenged a 12-10 loss to the Vikings at Bob Wren Stadium earlier in the year. Defense played a big part of that win, as Viking shortstop Tom Carter made a diving catch in the ninth inning with two men on that killed Ohio's rally.
The Bobcats will attempt to prevent Duquesne from avenging its own early-season loss to the Bobcats today, as the two teams will play in Pittsburgh, Pa. this afternoon.
Ohio beat Duquesne 4-2 on April 13. Brent Choban started and allowed an unearned run in three innings of work, and Dillon worked 2 1/3 innings in relief to pick up the win.
We're just trying to do the same fundamental things we do every day
Carbone said.
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