A trip down south brought better weather for Ohio. The nicer weather, however, also proved to be a big reason for the Bobcats’ struggles against Furman.
Ohio was outscored in the four games by a combined 35-11 as both hitting and pitching problems haunted the Bobcats. Coach Joe Carbone attributed lack of real-game preparation as the major factor in Ohio’s weekend.
“The main problem is that we don’t get to get outside and work out,” said Carbone. “We come down and face southern teams and they’ve been inter-squadding for three weeks so they get in 15 games basically.”
Ohio has spent the past few weeks practicing on different surfaces in makeshift inter-squad games, making it difficult to give an already young team a real feel for what to expect when it comes to a live game.
A 7-0 loss to the Paladins on Sunday capped off the tough weekend. On the day, the Bobcats only managed one hit as Furman’s Tyler Wood pitched eight innings, striking out six and walking only two.
“The kid threw a great game against us,” said Carbone. “He had a good sinking fastball, he had a good changeup, he had a good slider … He was just better than we were.”
On Saturday, Ohio and Furman faced off in a doubleheader, which saw the Bobcats use seven different pitchers allowing 19 hits. And while Ohio has only one senior in its pitching staff, Carbone attributes the Paladin victory to their bats.
“Furman just hit the ball well,” he said. “We ran just about everybody out there … Furman is a very good club.”
In Friday’s action, the Bobcats saw their best chance to win all weekend as they played a tight game with eight of nine starters on offense get at least one hit on the day.
Furman won, however, when second baseman Will Muzika belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to put the Bobcats away 6-3.
Even with Ohio’s struggles over the weekend, Carbone believes the trip helped his club and should better prepare them for the rest of the season.
“I think we’re a better team since we came down and played and it gets us more ready for next weekend.”
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