Pitcher Michelle Sauter couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.
Sauter got her 12th win on her 20th birthday as Ohio beat Kent State, 8-2, Saturday to earn a 2-2 record on the weekend.
Afterward, Sauter said that the win showed what type of team the 'Cats could be.
I think it was a very big win for us. They are a really good team
she said. It shows we are a really good team and that we are capable of doing some great things this year.
The Bobcats (18-21, 7-5 Mid-American Conference) got to work quickly in the second game against Kent State (20-14, 7-1 MAC), which had previously been undefeated in conference play.
In the second inning, outfielder Kelly Rodriguez, third baseman Kristen Salvatore, catcher Marian Davis and second baseman Alicia Catlette scored to give the Bobcats a 4-0 head start against the Golden Flashes.
The four runs were all that the Bobcats and the right-handed Sauter needed as she pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up four hits and one earned run.
Coach Jill Matyuch said that she was happy with how her team performed against the Golden Flashes.
It was awesome Matyuch said. We strung some hits together and took advantage of our base runners.
Ohio wasn't nearly as happy with the result of the first game of the doubleheader, a 5-2 Kent State victory.
Sauter gave up eight hits, four runs and had seven strikeouts against the Golden Flashes, while Ohio was unable to do much offensively against Kent State pitcher Kylie Reynolds.
The 'Cats were unable to muster a hit against Reynolds until the fourth inning and were unable to score until the seventh when Salvatore and outfielder Courtney Waters ended the shutout with RBI singles.
Ohio was able to split its doubleheader with Buffalo (3-31, 1-5 MAC) on Friday.
Scoring wasn't a problem for the Bobcats in the first game as they scored a season-high 15 runs en route to a 15-1 win.
Ohio registered 10 hits in its 12-run third inning, including two home runs ' a grand slam by shortstop Amanda Sacks and a two-run shot by designated player Allie Farrington. It was the first grand slam and second home run of Sacks' career.
It felt really good. I've been working on relaxing in the box and relaxing my hands Sacks said. I was really just trying to hit the ball on the ground
but it just happened to go a pretty long way.
In the second game Ohio out-hit Buffalo 10-6 but left nine runners on base in a 5-4 loss to the Bulls. It was just the third win in 34 games for Buffalo.
Despite Friday's loss, Matyuch said that the weekend was a success.
Obviously we were disappointed that we didn't come away with a couple of victories against Buffalo, Matyuch said. The fact that we were able to come away even against Kent State was huge because it puts us in position to continue to compete for the MAC Tournament.",",17,Archives,Matt O'Donnell,200704164208midsize.jpg,",",",",","
19389,2007-04-16 06:10:00,Volleyball: Bobcats tune up in spring tourney,",Going into Saturday's Ohio Spring Tournament
coach Geoff Carlston wanted to see how his team responded to mistakes and if it could bounce back from falling behind.
After the Bobcats dropped a game to Ashland midway through the tournament
Carlston's question was answered.
Ohio dominated its last two matches
sweeping Marshall and Wright State in lopsided fashion on the way to winning seven of eight games in the tournament.
I really liked how we finished, Carlston said. We played very well against two pretty good teams in a sense of the stuff we're working on.
The Bobcats started strong
winning both back-and-forth games of the two-game match against Xavier and the first game against Ashland. The Eagles took command of the second game early and never looked back
beating the Bobcats 30-22.
The tournament gave Ohio fans a chance to see some new faces in starting positions. Jill DeArmond has taken over the setter role with the graduation of Savanah Parra
and Carlston said despite DeArmond's early miscues
she had a solid day.
She struggled in the first two matches, but she did some really good things in the last two matches, Carlston said. Part of that was her finding her groove and the mental aspect of her game, but also I think the (middle blockers) helped her out.
DeArmond said being able to recover after mistakes has helped her progression tremendously.
I talked to (assistant coach) Don (Gromala), who works with me a lot, and he tells me if I make a bad set to come back and make the right set next time, DeArmond said. I think it's just really being resilient and coming in day after day and working my butt off.
For the first time in four years
