The Dukes' lineup gave the Bobcats a royal beating.
Ohio's pitchers struggled to get batters out for most of the afternoon and Duquesne avenged an early-season loss to the Bobcats, winning 12-7 yesterday at Duquesne Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The bullpen let the Bobcats (12-27) down. After starter Brent Choban pitched into the fourth inning and allowed only one run, the Dukes (9-34) hammered away at anyone else that coach Joe Carbone put on the mound.
It wasn't only the pitchers. We didn't do a good job on defense
Carbone said. But we walked 10 people. You can't walk 10 people and expect to win.
The Dukes struck first on a sacrifice fly by Chris Kimmeth in the fourth inning, Kris McDonough answered for the Bobcats in the fifth with a solo home run to tie the score 1-1.
But then the wheels fell off. Duquesne scored at least two runs in each of its final four times at bat, and a five-run seventh inning gave the Dukes a commanding 10-1 lead.
Four of the five runs came with two outs. After a leadoff home run by Anthony DeFabio, Brett Barber retired the next two batters and had two strikes on Joe Lombardo. But Lombardo worked a walk, and the next six batters proceeded to reach base.
It took the Bobcats three pitchers to get through the inning, and Duquesne broke the game wide open. Bobcat pitchers walked three in the frame.
We couldn't get pitchers to make a pitch Carbone said. Defensively we couldn't make a play to get the last strike or the last out.
Ohio used its power hitting to try to get back in the game. Seth Streich hit a two-run home run in the eighth, and Adam Gecewich scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to pull within 10-4. But Duquesne answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the eighth.
In the ninth inning, Gauntlett Eldemire and Robert Maddox III hit back-to-back home runs to make the score 12-7. Eldemire's shot came with a man on base, as senior first baseman Jerod Yakubik had extended his hitting streak to 21 games one batter earlier.
Yakubik went hitless in his first four trips to the plate before he led off the ninth inning with a double to center field.
We just try to put a good swing on the ball and hit the ball hard Carbone said. If we hit a home run
that's good
but we don't talk about hitting home runs.
When these teams played April 13, the Bobcats limited the Dukes to two runs in a 4-2 victory. But yesterday's game was exactly the opposite, as Duquesne scored at almost every opportunity.
One game will be a low-scoring game; the next one will be a high-scoring game - that's what makes the game great. Carbone said.
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Sports
Vince Nairn
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Junior Outfielder Adam Gecewich catches a fly ball during a game against Bowling Green Saturday at Bob Wren Stadium. Despite hitting four home runs, the Bobcats lost to the Duquesne Dukes 12-7 yesterday in a visit to the Pittsburgh school. (Mike McGoldrick | For The Post)
