Uncategorized
Ohio Baseball Struggling at the Plate
By: Clark Buskey
Posted on:
Even though the weather is getting warmer, the Ohio Bobcats’ bats have been getting cooler.
The Bobcats mustered just six runs in their three-game series against Kent State this past weekend, and were swept by the Golden Flashes in the process.
“I thought all three starters were outstanding,” said Kent State Head Coach Scott Stricklin. “Our bullpen was great, we played great defense behind them and we played a complete series in all facets of the game.”
However, Ohio’s Captain Ethan Newton said his team’s bats were a big reason why the Flashes walked away from Athens with the sweep.
“They had good pitching and they had some of the best pitching we’ve faced in the conference yet,” said Newton. “But at the same time, we also made a lot of competitive mistakes this weekend, going from at bat to at bat and not making adjustments.”
The Bobcats scored 29 runs in their last eight games, averaging just over 3.5 runs and going 1-7 overall.
In five of those games, Ohio failed to score more than one run.
In their previous 39 games, the Bobcats averaged 5.5 runs a game.
Freshmen and sophomores make up half of the players for Ohio.
Bobcats’ Head Coach Joe Carbone said he believes that the offensive slump can be attributed to the team’s inexperience.
“As young as these players are, frustration level gets high when you’re not being successful. So you just have to say ‘Calm down, just flush it from your mind and keep plugging away. It’s just a maturity thing and we’re trying to get these guys to grow up faster normally then they do grow up,” said Carbone.
Carbone’s team may be struggling at the plate, but on the mound, it has been the Mid American Conference’s best this season.
Despite allowing 13 runs to Kent State on Sunday, the Bobcats pitching staff has a conference best 3.51 ERA and starting pitcher Jason Moulton leads the conference by allowing just over two runs a game per appearance.
Ohio’s pitching may be why starter Seth Streich isn’t panicking about his team falling below .500 for the first time since mid-February.
“We match up well against any team and as long as our hitters can hit this weekend, we’re going to be just fine,” said Streich. “It’s really a matter of people stepping up and people controlling what they can control.”
The Bobcats, who were only one game back of the Flashes before the weekend’s series, now look to the next series at Akron this weekend.
Akron, which allows nearly five runs per game as a team, sits two games back of Ohio for second place in the MAC.
“Our hitters, we need to be more aggressive earlier in the count for us to be successful against Akron,” said right fielder Jensen Painter. “We just need to make the proper adjustments so we can give our pitchers some more run support.”