Ohio will head into the regular series portion of its schedule with 17-10 record as its played in five different tournaments across the country.
After going 2-2 in the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Indiana, the Bobcats wrapped up their tournament schedule and broke a few records along the way.
In its game against St. Francis-Pennsylvania, Ohio set the record for most home runs in a game in both Ohio history and Mid-American Conference history as it hit seven.
The Bobcats (17-10) were successful last season because of their ability to hit home runs as they totaled 57 in 57 games. Through 27 games, they’ve hit 31 and are on pace to pass last season’s total.
Duke/N.C. State Invitational – March 1-3
In games that featured plenty of offense, Ohio won all four of its games in Durham, North Carolina. The marquee win for the Bobcats in the tournament was a 5-4 bout over Southeastern Conference school Mississippi State.
Charlee Pond and Morgan Geno hit home runs that gave Ohio its first lead of the game. Geno’s two-run homer ultimately sealed the game.
UCLA/Long Beach St. Invite – March 8-10
Ohio won four of its five games in the UCLA/Long Beach State Invite. In its four wins, Ohio allowed just an average of .75 runs per game and on average, scored 4.75 runs per game.
The Bobcats pitching core was stronger in California than it was in Indiana as it threw for a combined 1.20 ERA.
Hoosier Classic – March 15-17
In the aforementioned tournament, Ohio won and loss against St. Francis-Pennsylvania and Indiana. In its wins, Ohio averaged 11 runs while it only gave up 3.5 runs. Sophomore pitcher Madi McCrady was in the circle for the Bobcats’ wins as she had a total pitch count of 226 with 153 strikes. McCrady (9-5) will look to fill the hole that has been left behind by graduated pitcher Danielle Stiene.
Stiene was one of the key components of the 2017-18 MAC Championship team as she tossed no-hitters and allowed for McCrady to learn from the pitching tutelage that started with former pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey.
Ohio rotated three pitchers in its 19-18 loss to St. Francis-Pennsylvania and in its 6-4 loss to Indiana, McCrady was credited with the loss as she pitched six innings.
What’s next
Ohio finished its tournament portion of the 2018-19 schedule and will travel to Pittsburgh for a nonconference game against former coach Jodi Hermanek and Pitt.
The Bobcats defeated the Panthers in Athens last season in a 6-1 bout.
Hermanek left Ohio in the summer to become the head coach at Pitt.
