Sports
Ohio Baseball Falls At Akron
By: Eric Singer
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The struggles in the bullpen have been a major issue for Ohio all season long.
Their struggles have been well documented throughout the year, too, as they have allowed 121 runs from the sixth inning on this year. And before the series with Akron began on Friday, the 11-man bullpen unit had an ERA of 9.35 and a batting-average-against of .341, both of which are the worst in the MAC.
Those struggles continued again in Akron on Friday, as Spencer Sapp and Logan Cozart allowed five runs out of the ‘pen in the seventh inning, pushing the Zips to the easy 8-0 victory over the Bobcats.
The loss also marked the eighth-consecutive loss for Ohio, one loss shy of their season high total of nine, which lasted from March 9 to March 26.
Ohio (5-22, 1-9 Mid-American Conference) starter Jake Roehn began the seventh inning on the mound, but was pulled in favor of Sapp after giving up a leadoff single to Akron’s Matt Rembielak. This started a string of seven-consecutive Zips batters to reach base in the inning, six of which would come across to score.
Overall, Roehn (2-5) did turn in another solid start on the mound, pitching six-plus innings and only allowing three runs on eight hits, while walking three batters as well as striking out three batters.
Offensively, Ohio couldn’t get anything going, as Akron (17-14, 7-3 MAC) starter John Valek (3-2) completely shut them down. The ‘Cats could only manage six hits and one walk on Valek, who pitched his first complete game of the season.
The ‘Cats have two more games against Akron on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend as they try to end their losing streak and win their first series since 2011.