Oh, if only that ball had been fielded correctly.
In looking at the box score of Sunday's 19-10 scoring palooza between Ohio and Northern Illinois, it's easy to trace the root of the Bobcats' misery - the fifth inning. That's when the Huskies scored 10 runs to erase a 9-4 Bobcat lead.
And if you look closer at the fifth inning, an error on a ground ball to second baseman Bryan Barnes foiled a would-be double play and allowed the inning to continue for the Huskies. Ohio pitcher Jason Moulton allowed the 10 runs in the frame. Only one run was earned.
"We didn't make the play on the ground ball to second base," Carbone said. "We gotta turn the double play. We gotta make that play. One out, slow ground ball toward the bag. Boom, boom. Barnes has gotta make that play, it's not a hard play. And he makes it 99 times out of 100.
"And then after that, we didn't have anybody make a pitch, or make a play to get us out of the jam. We always sprinkle on a couple walks. Can't do that. And that's been the story of the season. When things get tough, someone's gotta come up and stand up and make a play, make a pitch. We didn't do that today. We did the first game (a 7-5 win), but the second game we didn't."
Freshman third baseman Dan Ward made an accurate statement when he said: "When you score 10 runs, you should win the game."
Indeed.
In the space of two games, the formerly dormant Bobcat offense scored as many runs as it had in its entire six-game losing streak - 17.
After the game, I asked coach Joe Carbone if this was a sign that players were getting used to the new, wooden-like bats instituted by the NCAA. Apparently not.
"Nope," said Carbone in response to my question. "The win was blowing out 25-30 mph. That's why."
In retrospect, this was probably a stupid question on my part. The wind had been so strong that day that the bouncy castle in foul territory by the right field fence had been blown almost to The Convo by gusts.
In any case, the Bobcats should be set if they can keep scoring at the same pace. Cincinnati comes to Athens Tuesday. Hopefully the wind is still blowing out.
