Sports
Adryan’s Efforts Not Enough for Ohio Against NKU
< < Back toThe Ohio Bobcats rebounded from a 5-1 deficit to take the lead after a stellar outing by John Adryan, who was a single shy of hitting the cycle, to put the ‘Cats up 6-5. The Northern Kentucky Norse tied it up in the top of the eighth when Conor Ledger hit an RBI single to left field, and Anthony Vagnier dropped what should have been an easy popout, sending the game to extras.
Ledger came in clutch for the Norse with a two out single in the top of the 10th to send Tito Montgomery home to give NKU the 7-6 lead. Ohio couldn’t close in the bottom of the inning, giving NKU the victory.
Ohio started off slow with Gerry Salisbury being unable to find the strike zone. When he did, NKU took advantage, putting up five runs in the first two innings.
“He’s just not throwing enough strikes. Since we’ve hit the spring, he’s really just battled that, and he’s continuing to try and work through it. Right now, he’s having a hard time throwing strikes,” head coach Rob Smith said.
Adryan put Ohio up on the board with a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the second. Mitch Longo followed up in the third inning with a two-out single, and Rudy Rott hit a single to drive Longo home to put the score at 5-2.
Adryan struck again in the sixth with a triple to deep right to drive Rott home. Cody Gaertner followed with a two-run homer to tie it up at five a piece. Tyler Finkler hit another single to center to send Spencer Ibarra across home, giving Ohio the 6-5 lead after six innings.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well lately, just trying to put good swings on it. It’s good as a team that we’re hitting well, because it makes it easier to pitch when everyone’s hitting well. It’s just a shame we couldn’t have done more to help the team out today,” Adyran said.
The bullpen came in clutch from the third through the eighth inning with Michael Klein, Cory Blessing, Eddie Fitzpatrick and Jake Roehn putting up zeros.
Roehn clocked the loss, his first of the season. He allowed just one run, one hit, and threw three strikeouts.
Adryan went 3-4 with a double, triple and home run. He also picked up a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Ohio now hits the road to take on a Big Ten opponent in the Purdue Boilermakers for a three game series. First pitch is set for 6 pm in Kokomo, Ind.