Before Saturday, Ohio hadn’t won a baseball game since March 28.
After waiting more than three weeks, the Bobcats finally broke back into the win column with a 3-2 extra-inning victory against Toledo. Ohio coach Rob Smith said his team really earned the win.
“I’m happy for our kids,” he said. “You know, they’ve been working hard and trying to continue to improve. To get an opportunity to win a game and ultimately get that done was a lot of fun and good for our guys.”
As Ohio prepares for Tuesday’s home matchup against Morehead State, who they defeated 9-1 last season at Bob Wren Stadium, they hope to draw from an offense that showed steady signs of improvement over the past weekend.
In the series against Toledo, Ohio averaged more than eight hits per game, which is a stark contrast to the team’s two-hit performance against NAIA opponent Rio Grande on Wednesday.
The outburst at the plate during the weekend was capped off in the series finale. Despite falling to the Rockets 7-4, the Bobcats recorded 10 hits, which is their best single-game mark since a 12-hit performance against Western Michigan on March 30.
“We probably could have scored six or seven runs had we gotten a few more key hits,” Smith said. “It was good to see it and hopefully it was an encouraging sign that we might be able to get a little bit of offensive momentum going.”
One of the most productive players was junior first baseman Jake Madsen, who spread out seven hits in the three-game set, driving in three runs and scoring twice.
Madsen has repeatedly said he wasn’t happy with his performance in the early part of the conference schedule, but he’s turned it on in the last week, working on a modest five-game hitting streak that includes three multi-hit performances.
Making his 141st consecutive start on Sunday, Madsen has been a mainstay in the Ohio lineup, residing in the three-hole of the batting order for all but four games this season.
Junior outfielder Tyler Wells, who usually bats behind Madsen in the order, said it’s beneficial to have a reliable player like him anchor the lineup.
“It’s great,” Wells said. “(Pitchers) always try to pitch around him and you can always count on him to be on base.”
Smith has been impressed with Madsen’s production as well and was encouraged to see him hit well with runners on base, which has been an issue at times this season.
“Outside of his sheer number of hits, I’m encouraged by the fact that he’s starting to drive in some runs, which had been an issue for him,” Smith said. “You tend to lean on your veteran hitters to deliver there and it was nice to see Jake do that.”
On a negative note for the Bobcats, the injury bug has struck again. Freshman outfielder Mitch Longo missed Sunday’s game with a potentially serious ankle injury. Smith said Longo is “very much day to day” as of Monday afternoon and said the team will know more after Longo gets an MRI.
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Up Next:
What Morehead State (21-18) at Ohio (6-30, 2-13 MAC)
When 6 p.m.
Where Bob Wren Stadium
