Ohio was only able to win one game in four chances over the weekend at the John Cropp Classic hosted by Kentucky.
The Bobcats split their two games with Southeast Missouri State, losing Saturday and winning Sunday, and lost both against No. 22 Kentucky.
Saturday, Ohio lost to Southeast Missouri State 2-1.
The only run the Bobcats scored came when Mikayla Cooper was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Desirae Villanueva pitched four innings and gave up one run, and Kendall Meeks pitched two, giving up the other run.
For the second game of the day, the Bobcats lost to the nationally ranked Wildcats 5-3.
Kentucky led 5-0 after five innings, and a Cooper two-RBI single and an Alex Day home run cut into the lead, but the Bobcats couldn't finish the comeback.
Even though Ohio dropped both games, it scored late runs to cut into a deficit, something coach Jodi Hermanek was impressed with to start the season.
“Never once do we go to the plate feeling pressure,” Hermanek said.
Sunday, the Bobcats beat Southeast Missouri State 5-1.
Ohio grabbed the lead in the third inning with a Katie Yun single that scored two runs. Day hit her second home run of the weekend in the sixth to add three more runs for the Bobcats.
Madi McCrady threw a complete game, allowing one run on four hits. She struck out eight.
In the weekend finale, Ohio lost for the second time to Kentucky in five innings 11-1.
Danielle Stiene started and only threw one inning, giving up four runs. Villanueva pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up 7 runs, with only two of those being earned.
Hermanek knows her team hasn’t played its best defensively. Five unearned runs doesn't help against a team like Kentucky.
“Defensively, we have to take some pressure of our offense,” she said. “We have to put ourselves in better situations.”
Ohio next plays next weekend in the Liberty Softball Classic.
