Ohio (1-8) welcomed Dayton to Bob Wren Stadium for game two of a four-game series that resulted in another 7-4 victory for the Flyers
“I think they need to take some pressure off themselves and be a little more relaxed in the box,” Ohio head coach Andrew See said. “When you get runners in RBI situations, you try to do too much, and that’s been the case a little bit this season.”
Ohio looked to even the series after the Flyers defeated the Bobcats 7-4 in a back-and-forth battle. Making his third start of the season for Ohio was freshman lefty Evan Lichtenauer.
The Flyers opened the game firing, grabbing an early lead, starting with a leadoff double followed by a single that gave Dayton a 1-0 lead. After a walk and groundout, Dayton tacked on another run on a slow rolling infield single to third base.
In the second inning, after a leadoff single by Dayton, Lichtenauer forced a smooth double play to redshirt junior Cam Bryant. Dayton responded with a single, followed by stealing second base which lead to an RBI double to extend its lead to 3-0.
Lichtenauer was relieved early in favor of right-handed junior Ethan Stewart. Dayton tacked on another run on a single to right field, giving Dayton a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the second.
In the bottom of the second, senior third baseman Dylan Shepherd drew a walk, allowing junior catcher Tyler Stack to advance him to third on a double to right center. The Bobcats got on the board on a bang-bang fielder’s choice by redshirt outfielder Max Palinski. Junior centerfielder Taylor Harris drove home Stack on an RBI single to left field.
After a pop-out and walk, the Bobcats cut the deficit to one with an RBI double from Bryant to right, forcing Dayton to call on the bullpen early with two outs and runners on second and third.
Opening the third, Shepherd made back-to-back fantastic plays, including a gritty diving play for the first out and a swift move to nab the runner for the second out. After a Flyer single, the Bobcats continued to play well defensively as Stack gunned down the runner at second to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Harris opened with a leadoff double to left, followed by senior Reese Harmon drawing a walk, forcing Dayton to call on its second reliever of the game with runners on first and second and no outs. The Bobcats stranded the runners with back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to center, holding the Flyer lead at 4-3.
In the top of the fifth, Ohio continued to look sharp defensively after a leadoff single. Stack made a smooth sliding catch on a pop fly behind the plate, followed by a tough center field catch from Harris.
In the home half of the fifth, the Bobcats threatened with runners on first and second with no outs before grounding into a double play to hold a runner on second with two outs. Ohio put runners on the corners after a successful bunt hit down the third base line from Palinski.
The defense continued to help out their pitchers, as Harris flashed the leather with a diving grab for the first out of the sixth, followed by a strikeout and fly out to left field to hold the deficit to one.
After Ethan Stewart settled things down with several scoreless frames, Ohio turned to senior right-hander Aaron Blum in the seventh to maintain the one-run deficit with a runner on first and one out. The Flyers advanced their runner to third on a botched steal attempt, but the defense held it down with a groundout and a leaping catch in center field to end the inning.
“(Stewart) did a really good job of coming in and challenging hitters and expanding the strike zone when he had two strikes,” See said.
Tyler Stack looked to get a two-out rally going in the home half of the seventh after drawing a walk and swiping second. However, Dayton held strong, forcing a lineout to left field, keeping its lead at 4-3 headed into the eighth.
Right-handed junior Hunter Brooks entered the game for Blum headed into the top of the eighth. After surrendering back-to-back walks, Ohio called on senior lefty Dillon Masters to stop the bleeding. After a sacrifice bunt, Dayton threatened with the bases juiced and one out.
Dayton finally got to break through with a two-run single to extend its lead to 6-3. Masters answered right back with a punchout looking. Dayton added to its lead after a wild pitch ended the inning with a 7-3 lead headed into the home half of the eighth.
Ohio responded with a leadoff single from Harris, followed by a double to right from Harmon to put runners on second and third with no outs. Ohio cut the lead to 7-4 with a sac fly from senior Cam Hill headed into the ninth.
Headed into the ninth down three runs, the team looked for a spark from the middle of its lineup. After a strikeout looking, Shepherd looked to get the offense going after being hit by a pitch with one out. The Bobcats stranded Shepherd as the Bobcats dropped the second game of the series by a score of 7-4.
