Updated (Saturday, 5:05 p.m.)
The Bobcats' game against Buffalo will start at 6:00 after being postponed beacuse of weather conditions.
Despite totaling only six hits to Buffalo’s 11, the Bobcats were able to pull away a 6-4 win against the Bulls Friday.
Ohio moved to 20-17 on the year and 9-4 in the Mid-American Conference with the win. The Bobcats have won eight of their last 10 conference games.
In the top of the first, Buffalo first baseman Alex Baldock knocked a blooper into shallow center with two men on. The hit was slightly out of senior center fielder Ethan Newton’s reach despite a diving effort and was good for the first run of the game.
Jake Madsen put the Bobcats on the board in the second half of the inning, scoring center fielder Ethan Newton on a bases loaded sacrifice fly to right.
Dan Schmidt continued the trend, singling up the middle to score left fielder Tyler Wells. Catcher Cody Gaertner scored Jensen Painter with a groundout to first in the next at-bat before Ian Mezlak flied out to right to end the inning.
Buffalo catcher Tom Murphy tied things up with a two-run blast over the left field fence in the third.
The Bulls continued the offensive onslaught the following inning. Designated hitter Jordan Camp led off the inning with a double for deep left, which was followed by gap single by second baseman Jon Mestas.
Left fielder Matt Pollock drove in Camp on a double over Newton’s head in left-center.
Ohio was able to make it out of the inning with only one strike against its cause as shortstop Garrett Black and second baseman Ian Mezlak turned a double play to get the Bobcats out of the inning.
Black and designated hitter Doug Holmes were able to muster singles in the fourth, but the Bobcats couldn’t convert the base knocks to runs.
Heading into the top of the fifth, the Bobcats trailed 4-3 and had half of the Bulls’ eight hits.
Wells evened the score with a homer to left to lead off the fifth for the Bobcats. However, they could not sustain any offensive pressure.
Wells scored Holmes from second in the sixth on a ground ball through the infield to give the Bobcats their second lead of the game.
Mezlak popped a sacrifice fly to shallow left to score Madsen in the seventh. The insurance run was a good omen for the Bobcats, as Ohio is 17-1 on the season when leading after seven innings.
Brett Barber replaced Ohio starting pitcher Brent Choban in the seventh inning, after he gave up 11 hits. Barber stepped in and recorded a flyout and strikeout with a runner on third to get the Bobcats out of the inning.
Barber finished off the Bulls 1-2-3 in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
The Bobcats will face Buffalo Saturday at Bob Wren Stadium. The game is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start.
