Ohio kicked off the first road series of its eight-game road trip against its rival, the Miami RedHawks, where Miami won the series two games to one.
In the first game, the Bobcats came out hot, scoring 4 runs in the top of the first. To lead off the game, graduate infielder Colton Shirley reached on an error, followed by a walk to senior outfielder Cam Hill. After a fielder’s choice by junior outfielder Cameron Boyd that threw out Hill, Boyd swiped second to allow junior catcher Tyler Stack to clear the bases on a 2-run single.
The Bobcats swiped their second base of the inning, with Stack nabbing second that led to a 2-run home run to left from redshirt freshman Grant Wilson. Right-handed freshman Mason Gass cruised through a scoreless first.
It didn’t last long with Gass allowing a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second, followed by back-to-back singles that drove in another run on a sac fly to cut the lead to 4-2 headed into the third inning.
The RedHawks cut the deficit to 4-3 in the third inning after a lineout, the RedHawks hit a one-out triple and scored on a groundout to short. After two dominant scoreless innings from Gass, the Bobcats tacked on 3 insurance runs for him.
To lead off the sixth inning, Stack doubled to left field and scored on a sac fly by redshirt freshman infielder Grant Wilson, extending the Bobcat lead to 5-3. Headed into the seventh inning, redshirt junior infielder Cam Bryant drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Shirley drove Bryant home on a single up the middle.
In the eighth inning, after a leadoff lineout, fifth-year infielder Will Henson struck a double down the line that allowed junior outfielder Taylor Harris to drive home Henson, giving the Bobcats a 7-3 lead headed into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Miami did not go out without a fight; however, calling on two pinch hitters that put runners on second and third with one out, forcing senior pitcher Dillon Masters in a tough situation where he would walk the bases loaded and get out of the inning, allowing one run on a groundout to hold the Ohio lead to 7-4 headed into the ninth.
Miami rallied late, but it was not enough as a walk and a wild pitch opened into a two-out home run, ending the game 7-6. The momentum shifted quickly on Saturday afternoon as Miami utilized a 14-hit barrage to secure a 15-5 victory in just seven innings.
The RedHawks jumped to an early 2-0 lead off an RBI triple and groundout in the first before Ohio briefly evened the score in the third inning. After a leadoff walk from Bryant and a one-out single from Shirley, Harris drove in Bryant with a sacrifice fly before a Miami error allowed Shirley to cross the plate, knotting the game at 2-2.
However, the deadlock was short-lived, as Miami exploded for 8 combined runs across the fourth and fifth innings, effectively putting the game out of reach. Ohio attempted a late-inning push in the seventh inning, highlighted by a Dylan Shepherd RBI double and an Henson RBI single, but a four-run response from the RedHawks triggered the run rule to end the contest.
Sunday’s series finale mirrored the previous day’s high-scoring nature, with Miami claiming a 17-6 win to take the series. The Bobcats showed early life in the third inning, erasing a 3-0 deficit to tie the game. As the Bobcats started the rally with straight singles before Shepherd drew a bases-loaded walk to start the scoring, followed by a Henson RBI single and a Bryant sacrifice fly.
The tie was yet again short-lived, as the RedHawks responded with a massive eight-run bottom half of the third inning with a 3-run homer, two RBI singles, an error and an RBI double.
Ohio continued to fight, finding production from Harris and Shepherd, who both delivered RBI doubles in the fourth inning. Shirley added an RBI single in the sixth inning to bring Ohio within five, but an Ignacio Gonzalez grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning served as the final blow, pushing the lead to 17-6 and ending the game.
Ohio travels to Highlands, Kentucky, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. to take on the Northern Kentucky Norse before heading to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, for the second road series of its trip with Central Michigan
