Ohio showed earlier in the season that it could go toe to toe with ranked teams. The Bobcats fell to No. 9 Kentucky by only three runs in a game Ohio dominated the last five innings of in March.
The Bobcats (12-35) returned to their pesky ways against ranked opponents once again on Wednesday, but still found themselves on the losing side of a 6-5 decision on the road to No. 17 Pittsburgh (37-11).
Sophomore pitcher Nick Plys got the ball for the start and allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks in four innings of work. It wasn’t his sharpest outing, but he kept Ohio in the game, coach Rob Smith said.
Brad Przebieda, Brett Barber and Logan Cozart pitched the remaining four innings. Przebieda was the only pitcher of the three to allow runs to cross the plate as he was knocked up for two earned runs on four hits in 1.2 innings pitched.
Smith was pleased with the offensive execution his team displayed as they put up nine hits and scored more than four runs for the first time in five games. It was a much improved performance from their Tuesday 2-1 loss to Dayton.
“Offensively, I thought we did some really positive things,” Smith said. “We hit with some runners in scoring position and we executed a couple of bunts. We stole a couple bases and I was pleased with our offensive execution today.
“I thought (Tuesday) was very, very poor, but today was a much different approach and I thought our guys did a good job.”
Senior third baseman Ben Otto continued his recent hot streak as he reached base for his 17th consecutive game and has raised his average, which was at .208 when his on-base streak started, up to .264. Otto went 2-4 with two runs batted in as he was moved up to the sixth spot in the lineup.
“He’s using the whole field,” Smith said. “Early in the season, he was very much a pull-side hitter, very one-dimensional in what he did. And now we’re starting to see him work the middle of the field a lot more and he’s hitting balls into the opposite field gap. His approach has certainly gotten better over the course of the year.”
Shortstop Dan Schmidt and first baseman Jake Madsen also recorded two hits, while left fielder Tyler Wells and designated hitter Nate Squires each recorded RBI.
Ohio’s quest to finish the season strong was made tougher for their three-game set at home against Bowling Green on the weekend, as the Bobcats have lost freshman Friday starter Jake Miller to injury.
Smith said that Miller is experiencing shoulder discomfort and though he doesn’t think it’s serious, he wants to give his ace the weekend to heal.
Senior Marck Paliotto will get the start on Friday, with freshman Connor Sitz taking the hill on Saturday and Sean Kennedy making his first conference start of the season on Sunday.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
