Sports
Bobcats 13 Hits In 6-1 Victory over Akron
By: Tyler Prich
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On Saturday, pitcher Connor Sitz stood on the rubber for five strong innings and allowed just one run on three hits to earn his fifth win of the season as his Ohio Bobcats defeated the Akron Zips 6-1.
The Zips (19-21, 9-8) had no response for the Bobcats (25-15, 10-7) red-hot pitching that gave up only four hits as a team en route to the victory. Ohio’s Tom Colletti threw 3.2 innings of one-hit baseball in relief to earn his second save of the season.
Akron’s only offensive action came in the first inning when a Brian Lees fielder’s choice allowed Mason Mamarella to score to take an early 1-0 lead. The Zips threatened with a runner on second base and one out, but two quick outs saw the end of Akron’s only threat. Once Sitz left the game in the fifth, the Zips reached base just three times.
Ohio wasted no time with an answer in the bottom of the first, as Jake Madsen smacked a sacrifice fly out to deep left, scoring Garrett Black to tie the game. Cody Gaertner then ripped an RBI single to left field, scoring Mitch Longo from second to give the Cats a lead they never relinquished.
In the eighth inning, Madsen stepped up to the plate just one hit away from tying Ben Crabtree for the most career hits in Ohio history. And with one out and one runner on, Madsen sent it to left field for hit No. 269 and now is poised to etch his name into the record book.
Black led the way offensively for Ohio, collecting three hits in his four at-bats, and contributed an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Manny DeJesus finished the day with two hits, extending his hit streak to nine-games. As a team, the Bobcats pounded out 13 hits in the contest.
Ohio will look to finish off the sweep and earn another valuable conference win against the Zips on Sunday, with first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Pitcher Jake Rudnicki (2-4, 7.83 ERA) gets the start for the Bobcats.