And we're off. It's a pretty sparse crowd here at Bob Wren Stadium.
In the lineup for the Bobcats are backups J.R. Reynolds at catcher and senior Wes O'Neill at second base. It'll be interesting to see how Ohio fares in the field, because O'Neill is one of the team leaders in errors.
1st inning
Taylor Emody alread has an error at first base and a ball hasn't even been hit in play yet. Richie Rodriguez popped a ball foul along the first base line. Emody was right under it and just plain missed it.
A.J. Jamison hit a single to center field and then stole second two batters later. That's where we stand.
Bryan Soloman then hit a ball in the gap to left-center field, scoring Rodriguez from second. The ball was well hit, but Soloman was held to a single.
1-0 Eastern Kentucky
2nd inning
Backstrom recovered and threw a one-two-three inning, including a strikeout. For the second out, he caught a hard liner that came about five inches from his face.
In the bottom of the inning, the Bobcats threatened when Garrett Black hit a single, then stole second while Adam Gecewich was at-bat. Gecewich fouled off at least five balls before walking to put men on first and second for J.R. Reynolds, who popped out to right field.
3rd inning
Not much happened here. Jamison hit a ball past Backstrom's glove for a single. Then the Colonels were retired. The Bobcats went in order
4th inning
Again, the Colonels got one hit.
The Bobcats finally came close to threatening offensively in the fourth. Taylor Emody singled, then Dan Ward walked. Emody and Ward advanced on a wild pitch. Then Adam Gecewich worked another 3-2 count into a walk to load the bases. With two outs, Reynolds again ended the inning on a grounder to shortstop to end the inning and strand Ohio's runners on base.
5th inning
Catcher Sean Hagen started off the inning with a single in the hole between third and short. Shortstop Garrett Black dove at it but couldn't reach the ball. Hagen then stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jamison hit him home with a single. The next batter, Jacob Daniel, also hit a single, which prompted a mound meeting with Joe Carbone and the rest of the infield. Backstrom stayed in the game, but my guess would be that he doesn't return for the 6th.
Wes O'Neill started off the inning with a sharp grounder down the third-base line and reached second on the play. That's Ohio's third hit of the day. Newton flied out to left field. 1 out, man on second. Mound meeting for EKU. Macon Smith takes the mound for the Colonels.
Seth Streich pinch hits for Burkhardt and hits reaches second on the throw. So with men on second and third, Jensen Painter stepped to the plate and hit a long fly ball, deep to center field. The ball ended up landing by the warning track, just past the center fielder's glove. O'Neill easily scored. The second basemen had the relay throw as Streich was rounding third, but Carbone waved him home anyway. It was a close play, but Streich slid into home plate safe.
EKU 2, Ohio 2
6th inning
Michael Garcia singled, then got to second on a wild pitch. He scored when Matt Phipps doubled. Brett Barber, in for Tyler Backstrom, then walked two of the next three batters, so the bases were loaded for Jamison with two outs. Jamison hit a hard ball up the middle, and O'Neill made an amazing diving catch to stop it. Phipps scored from third, but O'Neill's diving play saved a run.
Gecewich, Ohio's second batter in the bottom of the sixth, walked for the third time in the game. But J.R. Reynolds again failed to get a hit with a man on base. He lined out to the third baseman. Bryan Barnes, the regular second baseman pinch hitting for O'Neill, lined out to short to end the inning.
8th inning
Richie Rodriguez got his first hit of the day with a long fly ball to left-center off the wall. It would've been only a double, but Painter collided with the wall and hurt himself. Newton was a little bit later getting the throw in, and by the time the ball was in the infield, Rodrigue was at third. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch got him home. 5-2 EKU
Taylor Emody started the Bobcats off with a single. Then Dan Ward hit a grounder up the middle, right at second base. The shortstop charged, but bobbled it. Men on first and second. A groundout from Black advanced Emody and Ward to third and second. Then Gecewich hit a fly ball to shallow right. The right fielder approached it, bent down, glove out. But he couldn't field it, and the ball got by him. Two runs scored. Two strikesout ended the inning.
9th inning
A clutch double play with the bases loaded kept the game within one run. Jamison and Soloman both have four hits. If the Colonels win, they're the Players of the Game (s). The Bobcats are up now. Let's see if they can tie it up.
Eastern Kentucky's Ryne Purcell was throwing the heat. Nine straight strikes. Painter singled. Emody flew out to right.
Final score: Eastern Kentucky 5, Ohio 4
