Sports
Bobcats Defeat Akron in Pitcher’s Duel
By: Eric Singer
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With the game deadlocked at 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Tyler Wells stepped to the plate. His teammate Jake Madsen stood on second base representing the winning run with only one out in the inning.
Wells, who was second on the team with 31 RBI’s coming into the game, did not waste the opportunity. He smacked a single into left field, allowing Madsen to score to give Ohio the 1-0 victory in game one of the weekend series with Akron.
“It was great to get a win, especially against the team who was in first place in the MAC East,” said Wells after the game.
The game was a classic pitcher’s duel, with Ohio (24-15, 9-7 Mid-American Conference) starter Jake Miller and Akron starter John Valek matching eachother pitch-for-pitch. Miller threw 6.1 innings and allowed just six hits, while Valek tossed 8.1 innings and allowed five hits and seven strikeouts and the only run of the game.
Akron (19-20, 9-7 MAC) had its best scoring chance in the seventh inning, when Miller allowed three-straight one-out singles to load the bases. However, they could not capitalize as Logan Cozart came on in relief for Ohio and struck out the next two batters to leave the bases loaded. Cozart threw another two scoreless innings to pick up his team-leading fifth win of the season.
Madsen collected two hits on the night, bringing his career total to 267, leaving him just three hits away from becoming Ohio’s all-time leader in career hits. John Adryan, Wells, Mitch Longo, and Manny DeJesus all added hits for Ohio as well, with DeJesus extending his hit streak to eight games.
With the win, Ohio moves into a tie with Akron for second place in the MAC East, and sit just one game back of division-leading Kent State (10-6). The Bobcats and Zips will reconvene for game two on Saturday morning with first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. Junior Connor Sitz (4-1, 4.82 ERA) will get the start for the Bobcats.