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Baseball: Bobcats defeat Northern Illinois to return to .500


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Ohio took a one run lead in the first inning and never lost the advantage, as it cruised to a 3-1 victory over conference foe Northern Illinois. The Bobcats’ pitching was on point Saturday, giving up just one earned run on five hits.

 
Sophomore Sean Kennedy picked up the win in relief. The southpaw entered the game in the fifth inning to get Ohio out of a jam and made quick work out of the Northern Illinois hitters through the latter stages of the game. He allowed just two hits and struck out four in his four innings of work.
 
Centerfielder Ethan Newton hit safely three times and scored all three of Ohio’s runs as a result of some heads-up base running. The senior provided a spark in the first inning, reaching base with a single to left field before advancing to second on a fielder’s choice, stealing third, and scoring on an error by the catcher. The 3-4 combination of Jensen Painter and Jake Madsen split two RBI in the fifth and seventh innings to provide cushion for Ohio’s solid pitching.
 
Starting pitcher Jason Moulton was solid in 4.2 innings. The senior took a no-hitter into the fifth before giving up three hits and a run. With runners on second and third, Kennedy came into the game and got the ‘Cats out of the jam.
 
With the win, Ohio returns to .500 (15-15) and looks to complete the sweep over Northern Illinois (8-22) on Sunday.