Ohio (1-6 overall) was swept over the weekend by Tennessee Tech (5-3 overall). The Bobcats never got the bats rolling against the Golden Eagles, never putting up more than 4 runs in a single game, while Tennessee Tech was never held below 6.
The action kicked off Friday afternoon, and it was another rocky start for junior left-handed pitcher Aiden Cook, who didn’t even finish two full innings of work before giving up 4 earned runs and six walks. The walks were really what got the best of Cook again in his second outing because he only allowed three hits and struck out four batters.
Ohio played from behind all day Friday and could never battle back, despite an RBI single from graduate student Will Henson in the fourth inning, an RBI double from junior outfielder Cameron Boyd and finally an RBI single by junior catcher Tyler Stack. These strong hitting performances were not enough as Tennessee Tech pulled away for an 8-3 win in game one.
The Bobcats' best performance of the weekend was in the first of two games in the double-header on Saturday. After a rough first start, sophomore righty Luke Bryant threw four innings of one-run ball and struck out five hitters. Bryant then got some run support in the form of a 2-run homer by senior catcher Dylan Shephered to put Ohio up 2-1 after four innings.
Unfortunately, the Bobcat began to collapse from there. Ohio head coach Andrew See went to junior right-handed pitcher Ethan Stewart, who was blasted for 5 runs in 3.1 innings pitched. Ohio might have countered with a pair of RBI singles in the late innings, but it was again not enough to catch the Golden Eagles as Ohio fell 6-4 in game two.
Game three looked to be another good one for both sides. It was competitive throughout the opening innings, with Ohio relying on five strong innings from freshman lefty Evan Lichtenauer. Lichtenauer only gave up one, but the Ohio rotation was once again outgunned by the Tennessee Tech arms, as Garrett Holpuch threw seven shutout innings.
The seventh inning was disastrous for the Bobcats. They had two errors defensively as 4 unearned runs crossed the plate for Tennessee Tech, and essentially iced away any chance Ohio had in this one, now down 6-0.
Boyd brought across Ohio’s only run to keep up his hot start to the season, but it could only hopefully be a spark to a better showing in Sunday’s finale after the 6-1 defeat in game three.
Sunday afternoon was another disappointing showing from the Bobcats, who fell behind 4-0 after three innings. The Golden Eagles continued to quiet the Ohio bats, with another excellent outing on the mound of 6.2 innings of two-run baseball. Ohio’s runs were supplied on a double from Shepherd and a sacrifice fly from Stack.
The Bobcats kept Tennessee Tech in check throughout the middle innings on Sunday behind a bright spot on the weekend in freshman right-handed pitcher Mason Gass. Gass threw 7.1 innings, allowing 4 runs but striking out a couple hitters in his two appearances to help log some solid innings for Ohio when they desperately needed it.
Regardless of this effort, the Golden Eagles still led after six innings and in the seventh, put it away with an RBI triple that was immediately followed by an RBI base hit. This was the nail in the coffin of a poor weekend for Ohio, which is still searching for answers with this young group.
The Bobcats fell 6-3 in the final game of the series as Tennessee Tech completed the sweep, and Ohio will look to regroup before playing West Virginia on Wednesday.
