It’s been over two weeks since Ohio’s last win on the baseball diamond, and the team’s most recent go-round displayed the same deficiencies the team has been held accountable for all season.
Ohio fell to Youngstown State on Wednesday night 11-4, stretching its losing streak to nine games. Sophomore Jake Miller got the start and the loss for Ohio, pitching four innings and allowing three runs on two hits. Miller also walked four batters while striking out three.
Ohio used a total of nine pitchers in the game and walked ten Penguins hitters.
“It’s the walks,” coach Rob Smith said. “Anyone can stand up there without a bat and would find their way on base when you walk ten guys. I told the team this losing streak will continue if we continue to walk guys. Baseball’s a pretty simple game; throw it over the plate, make routine plays and get timely hitting, and you’ll win a lot of games.”
Ohio started the scoring in the second inning via an error by Youngstown State shortstop Shane Willoughby. It held onto the lead for a couple of innings before the Penguins finally responded in the fifth inning, loading the bases on two walks and a double. Jason Shirley then smacked a two-run single off the Bobcats’ junior Spencer Sapp to take its first lead and pushed across another pair later in the inning on a fielder’s choice and an error.
Shirley got another run batted in during the fifth with an infield single that scored one of two runs in the inning for Youngstown State.
The Penguins continued the offensive onslaught late, piling on four runs, all against Ohio junior reliever Nick Nauracy. Nauracy faced six batters, retiring just one and allowing four hits. By the time the inning was over, Youngstown State had doubled its lead and had the Bobcats buried in an inescapable hole.
Freshman centerfielder Mitch Longo led the Bobcats’ offense on Wednesday, recording a 3-for-4 performance and scoring two runs. Taylor Emody, Garrett Black, Jake Madsen and Tyler Wells all notched two-hit games, with Madsen finishing with two RBI and Black with one RBI.
Miller’s day on the mound began with four strong innings but allowed a good amount of damage in the three batters he faced in the fifth.
“We knew we were going to use a lot of guys today, and I was really happy with the way Jake pitched the first four innings,” Smith said. “It was a little bit of a return to the form we saw last season. The walks got to him a little bit, but it was good to see him pitch a good four innings. Unfortunately, the guys who followed him created a lot of opportunities for (Youngstown State) that they didn’t earn, and that’s how you get beat.”
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