It’s not yet halfway through the Mid-American Conference season and Ohio finds itself in a make-or-break series against a team that is almost a mirror image of itself.
The Bobcats (7-24, 3-6 MAC) host Akron (6-24, 3-6 MAC) in a matchup between teams trying to make a push from the bottom of the MAC standings into conference tournament contention.
Coach Rob Smith stressed that whichever team emerges from the weekend with a series victory could find itself in a healthy position to contend for the rest of the season. For the team that loses, its season could be in jeopardy.
“(Akron’s) much like us,” Smith said. “They understand the importance of this weekend. It is two teams that have scuffled for the most part throughout the year.
“If either club has a bad weekend, it could be trouble for them,” Smith said.
Like the Bobcats, the Zips struggle on the mound. Their starting rotation is young, with two sophomores and two freshmen heading a pitching staff with a team earned run average of 5.47, which is good for second-to-last in the MAC. Ohio is the only team with a worse team ERA.
Unlike the Bobcats, the Zips have also struggled to hit the ball. Akron is last in the conference with a .231 batting average and is averaging three runs a game. Opponents have outscored them 199-90.
As opposed to weeks past when the Bobcats limped into a conference series after a midweek defeat, they enter the weekend with momentum from a victory, as the Bobcats dispatched Eastern Kentucky 10-3 Wednesday night.
“This game is all about momentum,” sophomore first baseman Jake Madsen said. “It’s huge going into the conference series weekend with a win. We can trust ourselves. … It’s a huge confidence booster.”
While the Bobcats feel that they are riding a wave of momentum, Akron seems to be doing quite the opposite. The Zips dropped a game to Canisius on Wednesday and have dropped seven of their last nine.
Despite that, Smith said he knows the Zips are going to come into Athens and compete.
“I anticipate that they’re going to come in here and play hard,” Smith said. “They’re well-coached and are a little bit in transition themselves. … They’ll play hard, so we’ve got to come prepared and we’ve got to be ready to play a good ballgame.”
Jake Miller (1-4), who was the only Ohio pitcher off limits in the game against Eastern Kentucky, will start Friday.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
