Ohio split Saturday's double header with Bowling Green after the Bobcats won the first game 9-3 but lost the second game 8-1. Despite a dominant offense in the first game, it was a struggle to get batters going in the second game.
“I think in the first game, it was just a very different look at the picture,” senior outfielder Belle Hummel said. “We saw a lot of rise ball in the second game, and we haven’t seen that in a while, so just making that adjustment faster.”
The top of the first inning saw Bowling Green jump to an early lead, one that wasn’t held for long. Despite getting a double, Bowling Green gave up runs to senior infielder Colleen Bare and Hummel. Scoring early in the game has been historically good for Ohio, as it usually ends in a win.
The second inning didn’t see any scoring from Bowling Green, but it did see another Bobcat run from Belle Hummel, who reached the plate courtesy of an error. Having built its lead 3-1, Ohio needed a runaway inning now to prevent any momentum from Bowling Green.
Bowling Green would try to crawl back in the third inning, with a run from Peyton Steffes cutting the lead to a single run, something that the Falcons desperately needed; however, Ohio’s ace graduate pitcher Skipp Miller didn’t let this happen. The Bobcats quickly got three outs and went up to the plate themselves, where nothing happened.
Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but the fifth inning was where Ohio got its huge break. Early in the bottom of the fifth, after Bowling Green failed to score, Shelby Westler hit a huge home run to gain a run.
After a few more batters got out, Hummel stepped up to the plate with two outs, two strikes and bases loaded. Hummel hit a rocket that almost reached the parking lot, securing a grand slam. Ohio got four more runs, and Bare also blasted a home run right after, giving Ohio a quick five runs and putting the Falcons in a hole.
“Obviously Belle is having an unbelievable season this year and continuously leading us at the plate,” Hall said. “Up and down our lineup, there is not a moment where I haven’t believed in them.”
Bowling Green would try to send shots back at Ohio, but only managed to grab one more run. This sealed the team's win, as Ohio subbed in Keegan Moore as pitcher to finish the game. Moore didn’t allow any more runs after the score at the top of the sixth, and the Bobcats calmly walked in the second game, winning the first by six points.
After the fifth inning, Ohio’s confidence was sky high. Bowling Green brought that back down in the second game as Ohio did not manage a run until the fourth inning. Neither team managed to score until the top of the second inning, with Bowling Green getting on the board first.
Bowling Green managed to pad the lead even more as it scored five runs in the top of the third inning. Three early runs in the inning for the Falcons, and two more soon came off a Bobcat error. Having built the lead to pull away at Ohio, the Falcons continued to bat hard in the fourth inning with another double run, and Ohio was down 8-0.
“We just got to reassert our game plan, just figure out what we can do better. I think they felt the freedom to swing because we weren’t contributing at the plate,” Hall said. “It’s just taking a look at the game plan, seeing what we can be better at tomorrow, and then coming back for game three.”
Ohio got a consolation prize home run from sophomore outfielder Alexis Book to bring the score to a slightly more respectable 8-1, but the game was mostly over. Neither team would score again, and Bowling Green would shock Ohio in its second game of the series.
