The next two games are not critical in what coach Rob Smith wants to accomplish this season.
But to his players, the games have a more personal touch, as the Bobcats take on in-state opponents Cincinnati (7-13) on the road Tuesday and Ohio State (15-6) at Bob Wren Stadium on Wednesday.
Smith’s focus is receiving a bid to the Mid-American Conference tournament in late May, which would require the Bobcats to place within the top eight of the conference. He’s set the goal of 12 conference wins, which he said is a safe bet to get the team a postseason berth.
With Cincinnati and Ohio State in the Big East and Big Ten respectively, these games are of a secondary focus to the first-year coach.
“There’s not any more emphasis,” Smith said. “Our focus is our league and getting to the conference tournament. Cincinnati is a good club, as is Ohio State, so we’ll work through those games as best (we) can.”
The Bobcat squad is heavily made up of Ohioans, with 21 of the team’s 29 players hailing from the Buckeye state. For them, the games take a higher importance, as many of the players grew up in the backyard of the two larger schools in the larger conferences.
The game against Ohio State, which will be the only team from a power conference that will play in Athens this season, takes extra weight.
“I think it’s a big deal,” sophomore outfielder Tyler Wells said. “They’re one of our rivals besides Miami. … It would always be nice to come out there (against Ohio State) and get a win.”
Despite the want to show up their in-state rivals, Wells said the team needs to prepare for the two games like they would any other series, with a focus on maintaining the offensive momentum they built over the weekend against Toledo.
“We’ll try to play the same ball,” he said. “We just want to go out there and try to get more hits. We rely on fielding and playing conservative to get the defense in place, and again, we just have to keep hitting the ball.”
In the two single game matchups, Ohio will be taking on teams who are trending in opposite directions.
The Bearcats have struggled this season, especially of late, dropping eight of their past 11 contests, including losses to Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
Ohio State, on the other hand, has been red hot, winning four straight and 10 of its last 12 games. Most recently, the Buckeyes swept three games against Purdue on the road, outscoring the Boilermakers by a 25-4 margin.
This will be only the third meeting between the Bobcats and Buckeyes in almost 20 years, with the squads facing off for the first time since 1994 in Columbus. The Buckeyes emerged with a 6-5 victory in the last game.
Sophomore pitcher Nick Plys will start on the mound for the Bobcats against Cincinnati, while junior Sean Kennedy will take the bump for Wednesday’s game against Ohio State.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
