Ohio was dominated on Wednesday afternoon in all facets of the game and could never recover, pushing its losing streak to five games. The Bobcats fell behind early and could never get back into this one, resulting in a 19-6 loss.
Ohio took the field for some midweek action on Wednesday afternoon, continuing its road trip against No. 24 West Virginia. Ohio was looking to rebound after a poor weekend series against Tennessee Tech.
In the first inning, Ohio collected a couple of base knocks from junior outfielder Cameron Boyd and redshirt junior infielder Cam Bryant, plus a hit by pitch from junior outfielder Taylor Harris. However, It could not scratch a run across, as Harris was thrown out at home plate trying to score on Bryant’s hit, which slowed any momentum Ohio had.
Left-handed pitcher Aiden Cook (0-2) took the mound for the third time this season and got off to a solid start with a strikeout, but the Mountaineers still got on the board in the first due to an error and a pair of walks. Former Bobcat Matt Ineich scored the unearned run for West Virginia, but Cook cleaned up the damage and Ohio escaped the first inning down 1-0.
Cook was removed after just one inning of work, replaced by junior righty Ethan Stewart (0-1). Stewart walked a batter, and then the Mountaineers played some small ball on a bunt from Ineich, followed by a base hit to left field to load the bases.
West Virginia scored on a force out, but was not done there as Sean Smith hit a ball into the left-center gap to score another. Then, Paul Schoenfeld hit a 2-RBI triple to right-center field and put the Mountaineers up 5-0 through 2 innings of play.
The Bobcats threatened with the bases loaded in the third but were held scoreless. In the bottom of the inning, senior left-hander Aaron Blum came in for the bottom of the third, but the Mountaineers immediately got to him for a double. They brought the run around on a ground out by Ineich, but Blum struck out the hitter to follow as Ohio was coming to the plate again, now down 6-0.
For the third time in 4 innings, Ohio got the lead-off man aboard, but once again squandered it, as graduate student Will Henson worked a walk but was picked off just seconds after. After that, the Bobcats worked another walk, but West Virginia got out of the inning again with no damage done.
Blum came out in the bottom of the fourth for the Bobcats and collected 2 outs before handing the ball over to junior right-handed pitcher Hunter Brooks (0-0) with 2 runners on base due to walks by Blum. It did not take long for West Virginia to get rolling against the new arm, as Brock Wills sent one high over the right field wall for a 3-run home run to put the Mountaineers up 9-0.
The fifth inning saw Ohio again put runners in scoring position, and it finally cashed in on a bases-loaded walk by Boyd. The Bobcats kept the scoring going on an RBI single by Bryant as everyone moved up 90 feet, and Ohio was still threatening with nobody out.
The Bobcats kept cashing in with another RBI single, this one by Henson, followed by Boyd crossing the plate due to sophomore infielder Grant Wilson grounding into a double play. After another West Virginia pitching change, it stymied the Ohio offense and got out of the inning with a score of 9-4.
The Mountaineers went right back to building that lead in the bottom of the sixth with a towering drive to left field by Matthew Graveline for a 2-run homer and an 11-6 advantage for the home side. Blosser would be chased from the game shortly after in favor of sophomore left-handed pitcher Hunter Winston.
Winston walked the first batter he faced, and then Ineich made him pay with a 2-RBI double to left-center as West Virginia continued to pile it on. The Bobcats then got sloppy, dropping a fly ball and putting runners on second and third with 1 out and prompting another Ohio pitching change, as freshman right-handed pitcher Mason Gass took over on the bump.
West Virginia brought another one home on a sacrifice fly, but Gass limited the damage to end the sixth with Ohio down 14-6. This would be the end of the road for Gass, who was replaced by senior lefty Dillon Masters (0-0), who took over and sent the Mountaineers back to the dugout in order, but Ohio just could not get the bats moving in the late innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, Ohio turned to junior right-hander AJ Dallmayer. He threw a number of pitches in the inning, and West Virginia scored again on a wild pitch. The Mountaineers added on again with a 2-RBI double off the right-center wall, which led them to make another move on the mound, to senior lefty Landon Price.
Price gave up another couple of runs on a single to center field. Ohio then went scoreless in the ninth to wrap up a dominating day by West Virginia, in which Ohio’s losing streak went to 5 games, with a final score of 19-6 on Wednesday afternoon.
