Pressure, like momentum, is one of those intangible sports terms that sometimes seems to exist only in sportswriters’ minds. But in the eighth inning of Friday’s game at Bob Wren Stadium, Ethan Newton must have been feeling some kind of stress.
Tied at two with Mid-American Conference rival Miami (32-23, 18-8 MAC), Ohio (26-27, 10-16 MAC) was a loss away from being eliminated from MAC Tournament contention.
The Bobcats had runners on first and second with two outs, as good a chance as they’d had all game.
After nearly ending the inning with a pop-up that dropped foul in left field, Newton powered a line drive in the gap to right, scoring third baseman Dan Ward to put the Bobcats up for good, 3-2.
Despite the significance of the at-bat, Newton, who went 4-5 with two RBIs, said he wasn’t bothered by pressure, real or imagined.
“It sounds kind of corny, but I’ve never really been one to believe in pressure,” Newton said. “I think if you’re too busy analyzing situations, what are pressure situations and what aren’t, then you’re not focusing on the aspects of the game that you need to be focusing on.
“So (I was) just really going into the at-bat with a fresh mind, just me and the pitcher, wanting to beat the pitcher and get a hit.”
The Bobcats are not done yet.
They still need to beat the RedHawks tomorrow to have a shot at making the MAC Tournament. On top of that, Buffalo needs to beat Bowling Green in both games of their weekend series.
Despite Friday being a must-win contest, coach Joe Carbone said he did not bring it up with the team before the game.
“We’re just going to beat Miami and see what happens,” said Carbone. “That’s what we have to do. We can’t control everything else.”
If Newton led Ohio on offense, it was pitcher Seth Streich, who threw a complete game in his third straight start, who guided the team on defense.
Streich, a sophomore, gave up seven hits for one earned run on 109 pitches. But the highlight of his performance did not come on the mound.
With two outs and a man on third in the top of the eighth inning, Miami’s Ryan Curl chopped a grounder toward the mound. Streich hustled to the ball and made a quick toss to first baseman Taylor Emody, who stretched just far enough to grab the throw and preserve the tie.
Miami’s coach vehemently argued the call, saying Emody’s foot was off the base, but the play stood and the Bobcats took the lead in the next half-inning.
“(Streich) does everything for us,” Carbone said. “He hits, plays defense, fields his position. Great play on Curl. He’s probably the only pitcher on our team that could make that play, just because he’s an athlete.
Not that the rest of them aren’t. But that was a great play, so I thought that was the play of the game.”
