Ohio showed what it was going to do all game long as five of the first six batters hit line drives.
Only three of them resulted in hits, but Ohio scored three runs in the first inning of game one of the doubleheader against Akron.
The line drives continued to fall for Ohio throughout the game as the Bobcats won 8-0 in six innings.
Earlier in the season, the results weren't coming as the line drives were hit directly at fielders. But adjustments were made in practice.
“They were just finding the fielders so then we kind of worked on finding the gaps more,” infielder Alex Day said.
Once the line drives began to find the gaps, the Bobcats' offense has showed its potential, scoring almost seven runs a game in Mid-American Conference games.
The Bobcats were hitting just under .250 before conference games began. Since then, Ohio is batting .330 with six hitters above .300.
That success has propelled Ohio to a 12-1 record in the MAC.
Non-conference games are a good gauge for how the team compares, but all that truly matters is preparing the team for the conference season.
Having the offense perform better in conference play has given the whole team confidence that it can beat any team it faces.
Day is leading the offense with a .465 average and five home runs in conference play. The past three games, Day has ten hits, three home runs and 13 RBIs.
Ohio has already surpassed the home run total of last year to move into third all-time although it is not reliant on the home run to score runs with a team .365 on-base percentage.
With everyone in the line up squaring the ball up, it puts pressure on the opponent as they have to worry that anyone can start a rally.
The bottom of the order has been on base for the top, where Mikayla Cooper and Day are ready to drive in the runs.
Ohio is not just scoring bunches of runs each game, but it's getting clutch hits when needed to continue the strong play in conference play.
“I think we've had confidence in what we're doing and we've turned the corner and come into conference with confidence,” coach Jodi Hermanek said.
