Sports
Ohio Prepares For Rival Marshall
By: Kaleb Carter
Posted on:
With a trip to Huntington, W.Va., awaiting the Ohio Bobcats on Wednesday, the team looks to rebound from a two-game skid and bring out the bats against Marshall.
The ‘Cats come in having scored only five total runs in their last four games (and won two of those games against Miami).
“I think it’s going to be good for us to get back on the field fast,” Ohio head coach Jodi Hermanek said.
Ohio will have to break out the bats against a Marshall team that it lost to twice last year in a doubleheader in Athens. It will be big for Ohio’s confidence to possibly take two wins against a rival.
“You get them so many times, and it’s not just about our team, it’s about the school,” Hermanek said. “It’s about the towns, it’s about the battle of the bell…it’s more of a representation of who you are playing for.”
A big part of Ohio’s offensive struggles in that series came from Thundering Herd pitcher Andi Williamson, who has since graduated.
The Herd this season has struggled on the mound and sports a team ERA of 5.37.
Ohio batters will likely run up against both Lindsey Fadnek and Jordan Dixon on the circle, the two of whom have combined to pitch 284 2/3 of the team’s 310 innings in the circle.
Marshall batters are hitting .289 on the season, compared to .270 for Ohio, but in a testament to Ohio pitching, Bobcat opponents are only hitting .258 in 2014.
Four Marshall starters are hitting above a .300 clip, and the consistent Kaelynn Green leads the Herd with a .388 average.
“I’m totally focused on what we need to do in our home dugout,” Hermanek said.
Several Ohio players that have been scorching hot at times at the plate have cooled off. The ‘Cats do, however, seem to have found a consistent lineup and positional alignment that they can carry into the conference tournament. With Adrienne Gebele, Amanda Dalton, Casie Hutchinson and Alexandria Basquez still leading the way offensively, Ohio stands in good position to take a couple of wins in Huntington.