Sports
Middle of Bobcats’ Lineup Leads Ohio to Win
By: Tony Heim
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The Ohio Bobcats defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd 4-1 Wednesday afternoon, ending a three-game win streak for The Herd.
The middle of the Bobcat lineup was unstoppable against the Herd. Mitch Longo, John Adryan, Rudy Rott and Cody Gaertner combined for 11 of Ohio’s 14 hits. The quartet scored all four Bobcat runs, while also driving in three of them. Junior Tyler Finkler contributed the other RBI with a sac fly that plated Rudy Rott in the second.
Junior Mitch Longo continued his recent streak of success, reaching base on four of his five plate appearances. The outfielder proved to be a menace on the basepath by stealing one base and scoring two runs. Freshman Rudy Rott bounced back from an 0-5 performance at Wofford on Sunday by amassing two hits, one run and one RBI. The first basemen has stepped in seamlessly for Ohio all-time hit leader Jake Madsen, who graduated last season.
Bobcat pitching was near perfect until the final inning, when sophomore Jake Roehn gave up an unearned run for Marshall’s lone run of the game. Second basemen Ty Black committed an error for the Bobcats, pushing runners to first and third base with no outs. A Corey Bird groundout resulting in a fielder’s choice was the only thing separating the Bobcats from their first shutout of the season.
Jerry Salisbury took the mound to begin the day for the Bobcats, and he set a standard for the rest of the staff. Salisbury allowed six runners on base and stranded them all, en route to four innings of scoreless baseball. Junior Logan Jacik recorded the victory for the Bobcats after pitching the fifth inning in relief for Salisbury.
Ohio will look to continue the momentum in their home opener Friday when IPFW comes to town for a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium.