Before the season began, Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek said she was confident that her players would get a win as soon as they were able to get on the field.
She was right.
The Bobcats won their first three games in the USC Upstate Classic this weekend before falling on Sunday. They executed almost flawlessly in just about every aspect of the game.
Ohio (3-1) began its weekend strong on Friday afternoon, when freshman pitcher Lauren McClary tossed a shutout against St. Bonaventure in her first collegiate game. McClary allowed only one hit and recorded 12 strikeouts as she retired the final nine batters of the game.
“Lauren is a very dominant pitcher out there on the dirt,” Hermanek said. “She had a great weekend in every game she pitched. She did a great job leading the team in her first time out there this season.”
On Saturday, Ohio was back in action in a doubleheader. The Bobcats put on a hitting clinic, recording 30 hits in 71 total at-bats and striking out just two times all day.
In the first game, Ohio routed St. Bonaventure 21-4 in a shortened six-inning game. The Bobcats took advantage of poor defense by the Bonnies and recorded 16 hits, with seven more runners reaching base on an error.
Against the Detroit Titans in the second game, Ohio once again was hot at the plate. Raven King led the Bobcats in the 13-5 victory by belting her second home run of the day.
“We looked good in our at-bats from the first inning of the first day this weekend,” Hermanek said. “On Saturday, I think we were contagiously good at the plate and everyone did a great job of attacking the ball.”
But host USC Upstate shut out Ohio in the final game of the tournament Sunday. The Bobcats struggled to get anything going offensively, and Hermanek called USC Upstate the toughest team in the classic.
McClary picked up the loss on Sunday, but still struck out three batters and allowed only six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The freshman struck out 25 batters in the classic, as she appeared in all four games picking up two wins.
The Bobcats will be off until Friday, when they will travel to North Carolina to play four games in two days at the Campbell University Tournament.
“The competition is going to get progressively stronger every weekend, so we need to continue to practice situations under pressure in hope to continue to get better,” Hermanek said.
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