Ohio (1-2 overall) kicked off its season on the wrong foot, losing a neutral-site series against Murray State (2-1 overall). Ohio had a lot of new people in the building this offseason, including new head coach Andrew See and an entirely new coaching staff, as the Bobcats hoped the regime change could spark a turnaround from the 2025 campaign.
Junior left-handed pitcher Aiden Cook took the mound in the opener for Ohio and threw two innings, giving up 3 runs. Cook’s five walks really put him at an early disadvantage, but he recovered well to not give up big damage, as Ohio trailed 3-0 after two innings.
The Bobcats got on the board for the first time this season in the top of the third with a single to right field by junior outfielder Cameron Boyd in his first game with Ohio after transferring into the program from The University of Southern Indiana. Boyd was followed by graduate student shortstop Will Henson, who transferred from VCU to cut the Murray State lead to 3-2.
Ohio brought on freshman righty Mason Gass in relief of Cook, and he went 2.1 innings, allowing 4 earned runs. He did better at keeping the ball in the zone, but Murray State took advantage of mistakes and had seven hits against him. The Racers jumped out to a 9-3 lead after five innings and didn’t look back.
Racer’s first baseman Luke Mistone was the star of game one with three hits and five RBIs, plus tallying a run. The Bobcats scratched across one more in the eighth inning on a single to left field by junior outfielder Taylor Harris, who was another new Bobcat, coming in from Walters State Community College.
The other Ohio pitchers were senior left-hander Dillon Masters, who went 2.2 innings while striking out two and only allowing an unearned run. Following Masters was a junior transfer from Wright State, right-handed pitcher Hunter Brooks, who went 0.2 innings and allowed four runs, four hits and two walks. The final arm Friday night was senior lefty Landon Price, who had one strikeout in Ohio’s 13-4 loss.
Ohio looked to rebound Saturday, but the weather had other plans, postponing game two and forcing a doubleheader Sunday.
Sunday saw the Ohio bats come to life against a strong Murray State rotation, scoring 23 runs on the day. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they were behind the eight-ball early as right-handed starting pitcher Luke Bryant was battered in 0.2 innings, allowing 7 runs, but only five were earned. He struggled with walks and gave up two, 3-run homeruns to go down 7-0.
The Bobcats fought throughout the afternoon but could never catch up despite an eight-run performance. The first two runs for Ohio scored on a hit by pitch and then a passed ball. Then, senior infielder Reese Harmon, playing designated hitter, had an RBI single.
A couple of innings later, redshirt junior infielder Cam Bryant hit a two-RBI double. The game got away from Ohio at this point, but they got a bit closer in the late innings as Henson hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh and then Boyd hit a two-run homer in the 8th. The Racers buckled down in the ninth, though, and shut the door to win game two 11-8.
The Bobcats came back onto the field for the second half of the double-header, hoping to avoid the weekend sweep, and were successful behind a 15-run offensive explosion. The offenses went back and forth for both teams, which started with another RBI for Bryant. Murray State answered with three of its own in the bottom of the first.
Over the next two innings, Ohio scored 4 more runs behind the bats of some more new faces. Junior catcher Tyler Stack got rolling early in this one with an RBI double. He was followed by redshirt senior Max Palinski, who doubled as well. Then, in the third, sophomore third baseman Grant Wilson kept it going with a double of his own to put the Bobcats up 5-3.
Murray State responded with one, but then Ohio exploded for 5 runs in the top of the fourth. Boyd and Henson kept their hot weekends rolling to get the innings started with a pair of RBIs. Sophomore infielder Brady Alexander then got another knock to keep the line moving and bring another man around to score. It was then Wilson and Stack again to score the final two and put Ohio up big, 10-4.
With the big lead, See began to lean on some arms the Racers had not seen all weekend, and that got Ohio to the ninth with a 15-10 edge, after a few more runs were scored after a senior outfielder, Cam Hill, came off the bench for an RBI base hit, and then Boyd homered again. Then the final 3 runs for Ohio came across on a two-RBI single by Stack and an RBI double by Wilson.
Murray State put up three in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Bobcats collected their first win of the year over the Racers by a score of 15-13.
The biggest improvement that Ohio is looking for this year is on the defensive side, specifically with the pitching staff. As a team last year, Ohio allowed just under 9 runs a game and over three against the Racers. The Bobcats surrendered 37 runs, but the order was tall against a talented team and may not represent what could be possible for Ohio in 2026 as a pitching unit.
