Sports
Softball Sweeps Niagara
By: Andrew Hohman, Kellen Becoats
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The Bobcats won two back-to-back games over ther weekend, which is only the second time Ohio has managed to do so this season.
Both games had similar qualities: solid pitching, great team defense and a domineering offense.
Let’s take a look at how those three qualities led to the Bobcats’ 7-1 win on Saturday and the 5-1 win on Sunday.
Pitching
In the first game it was all about senior Kaylin Clarke.
She was a massive reason that Ohio (7-18) was able to stay in the game until it scored in the bottom of the third. Although the Purple Eagles had scored in the top of the inning, she held them to one run for the rest of the game and showed how dominant the Bobcats can be when the pitching rotation is clicking.
In the second game, it was freshman Mikayla Cooper who stole the show.
While Cooper came to Ohio with a reputation as a solid hitter and infielder, it now appeares that Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek thinks she can do it all for the Bobcats.
Before Sunday, Cooper had pitched maybe two innings for the first time as a Bobcat and didn’t disappoint.
And she showed her flexibility against the Purple Eagles (0-16) as well, as she held Niagra to four hits over six innings to give Ohio the weekend series sweep.
Cooper isn’t listed as a pitcher on the Bobcats roster. But with injuries up and down the roster, Ohio has had to adjust.
“I think I pitched five or less times in high school,” Cooper said. “But I thought I held them pretty well.”
If Clarke, Cooper and Lauren McClary — the other senior pitcher within the rotation — can continue to pitch at this level then Ohio will turn some heads going into conference play.
Team defense
One difference between the first and second game with Niagra was Ohio’s ability to contain Niagra’s leadoff hitter Katelyn Gruarin.
Gruarin went three-for-four at the plate and had the Purple Eagles’ only RBI. Cooper won the matchup Sunday, striking Gruarin out twice and letting up only one hit off of Niagra’s top hitter.
“We stayed away from her a little bit more that way she has to fish for the ball,” Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek said. “I think our pitchers were effective in doing that today.”
The pitching staff has been without 2014 second-team-all-MAC junior Savanna Jo Dorsey since early February. Cooper and Leanna Bachman have taken a while to get used to their increased pitching roles, but the new pitchers and the rest of the Bobcats are starting to find success.
But a renewed focus should be placed on the fielding of the Bobcats as well. With players like senior Adrienne Gebele, Clarke, and Cooper rotating anywhere from infielder to pitcher to catcher, it can often be hard to find some continuity within the defense, but Ohio has dealt well with having some of its key players put into new positions.
Speaking of the infield, watching the infielders work in unison and pull off some great catches was tantalizing.
Outside of that, the defense just seemed up to the task of holding off the Purple Eagles. In the top of the fifth of the second game, the bases were loaded with two outs. Typically those are the types of plays where the Bobcats give up mulitiple runs before being able to recover.
But on Sunday, Cooper just took a deep breathe, leaned back and struck out the next batter looking to retire Niagara before it could get on the board.
With that type of confidence and ability, other teams in the Mid-American Conference should beware of what could happen if this form continues into conference play.
Solid Offense
Here are a few of the Bobcats’ numbers from the weekend series.
18 hits, 12 runs and seven errors against opposition.
Those are the kind of numbers that the Bobcats have typically given up in games this season but, over the weekend, Ohio’s offense was dominant.
The Bobcats’ offense was superior over the two games — something that hasn’t often been said this year — and that offense led to two comfortable wins.
The weekend series sweep of Niagra marks the first time Ohio has won back-to-back games since winning the third, fourth and fifth games of the season. The Bobcats hope to carry the confidence from these two victories into the start of conference play.
“It was great for us to get out here this weekend and get this opportunity,” Hermanek said. “We are gonna roll this over into conference play by learning from a couple mental mistakes and allowing ourselves to compete and work to accomplish the goals the girls set before every game.”