Entering the first weekend of Mid-American Conference play, Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek stressed the importance of the Bobcats playing like the best team in the MAC.
Ohio (17-12, 2-2 MAC) displayed dominance at times, but finished the weekend with doubleheader splits against Kent State and Buffalo.
The Bobcats scored eight runs in one game apiece against both opponents, but were limited to two hits or fewer in the other games of the doubleheaders.
“We are getting different types of games from opposing pitchers,” Hermanek said. “I think we need to figure out how to adapt to what the opposition is throwing us.”
Against the Golden Flashes (12-12, 3-1 MAC) on Friday, the long ball and solid pitching led the Bobcats, which have been keys to victory all season.
Ohio couldn’t string runs together in the first game, aside from sophomore catcher Adrienne Gebele, who belted three homers on the day. She hit one in that first game — Ohio’s only run in the game — before hitting two in the second game.
“I was seeing the ball really well, especially in the second game when our team was hitting really well,” Gebele said. “Hitting is such a contagious thing and we went through three pitchers on (Kent State’s) roster, so I thought we all hit well.”
Paced by the trio of dingers from Gebele, Ohio finished with five home runs Friday, as junior catcher DJ Engelman and senior first baseman Caitlin Colvin also went deep, her 13th homer of the season, tying the program’s single-season record.
Inside the circle, pitchers Lauren McClary, a sophomore, and Savannah Jo Dorsey, a freshman, did not allow an earned run against Kent State.
McClary allowed a pair of unearned runs in the first game giving her the loss, despite allowing just four hits and striking out five batters in six innings. Dorsey then followed McClary’s performance with a complete game while yielding only two hits in the second game.
Saturday was much of the same story for Ohio.
The Bobcats continued where they left off, offensively, with 10 hits and eight runs in the first game against Buffalo (6-20, 1-3 MAC), but the wheels stopped rolling in the second game, in which Ohio recorded just one hit.
Senior second Tessa Bailey recorded the Bobcats’ only home run of the day in the first game.
Ohio now has 42 home runs this season, just five shy of tying the program’s single-season record, with 24 games remaining in the regular season.
McClary (7-4) pitched another complete game four-hitter in the first game.
“(McClary) has been here before and knows what to expect,” Hermanek said. “She feels confident and is pitching at the top of her game right now and this is when we need her the most.”
Buffalo committed nine errors during the doubleheader, which the Bobcats capitalized on during the second game. Ohio recorded only one hit in the game, but scored three runs because of the Bulls’ miscues.
The Bulls, however, pounded out seven hits and four runs to split the doubleheader.
“It isn’t our game plan to get big hits, because we do play small ball as well,” Hermanek said. “We have a lot of poised and physically strong hitters, but we need to be more disciplined at the plate. Not as many pitchers are going to throw at them, so they can’t be chasing pitches.”
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