After splitting its first pair of back-to-back midweek games this season, Ohio will have a tough challenge when it faces Eastern Michigan this weekend.
In the Bobcats' third Mid-American Conference series this season, they (16-16, 3-3 MAC) will have to contain a surging Eastern Michigan ball club, as the Eagles (13-20, 4-2 MAC) are coming off a big win against Big Ten Conference foe Ohio State and a close 2-1 loss against of No. 13 Michigan.
In total, Eastern Michigan has won six of its last eight games, while Ohio has dropped four of its last five, three of them from a crushing sweep to MAC opponent Central Michigan last weekend.
The Bobcats' pitching, which has proved its reliability in keeping the team in games all season, showed some weaknesses in the recent midweek games, as Ohio blew a 5-0 lead in an eventual win over Youngstown State on Tuesday and a 4-0 lead in an eventual loss to Marshall on Wednesday.
Ohio will look to bounce back on the mound this weekend with its trio of top starters in redshirt juniors Michael Klein and Gerry Salisbury and junior Butch Baird.
Scouting Eastern Michigan
The Eagles don't have anybody flashy offensively, as just one player owns a batting average above .270. As a team, Eastern Michigan owns a lowly .237 batting average and a mediocre .330 OBP.
On the mound, Eastern Michigan has had similar struggles, as the pitching staff owns an overall 5.38 ERA and allows a poor .303 opponent batting average.
But with Eastern Michigan recently giving big-name opponents a hard time, the less-than-stellar numbers shouldn't phase the Bobcats, who have a big opportunity to build some momentum on an inconsistent offense and pick up the consistency that has been lacking from the mound.
