Sports
Ohio Baseball: Bobcat Bats Stay Hot in Rout of Morehead State
By: Taylor Jedrzejek
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ATHENS, OH — Heading into their weekend series with Bowling Green last Friday, Ohio’s offense had left much to be desired in the first 22 games of the season. As a team, the Bobcats were batting just .199, which ranked in the bottom three of all of division one college baseball and scored just 3.14 runs per game.
Then, as if by flipping a switch, the Bobcat bats came to life.
12 runs and 13 hits in a win on Saturday, 12 wins and 14 hits in a win on Sunday and 12 runs and 11 hits in a win on Tuesday night.
The ‘Cats (8-18) scored a dozen runs for the third consecutive game to power past Morehead State (18-11) 12-3 on Tuesday night at Bob Wren Stadium. The win gave Ohio their first three-game win streak of the season.
“We’re playing with a little more confidence, for sure. We’ve got a better swagger to us,” Ohio head coach Rob Smith said. “Confidence is key and I think our guys have their heads in a really good spot. The belief is much, much better than it was a month ago.”
In the four games since the beginning of the Bowling Green series, Ohio has racked up 39 runs on 43 hits, raising their team batting average to .222 after Tuesday night.
The Bobcats were able to jump on the Eagles early in the game, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second. The first run came when Cole Revels grounded into a bases-loaded, double play that drove in Trevor Hafner.
Trevor Lukkes cleared the bases three batters later after two consecutive walks loaded the bases again. The left fielder’s fifth double of the year gave the Bobcats a 4-0 lead after two.
“He’s probably been the most consistent offensive player we’ve had,” Smith said. “He’s been critical to our offense and he’s done an outstanding job giving us opportunities.”
With the double, Lukkes also extended his hitting streak to nine games, with five of those being multi-hit outings.
Also powering the offense on Tuesday night was the tandem of Rudy Rott and Trevor Hafner. The pair combined to go 5-of-10 from the plate, driving in three runs and scoring six.
Not only did the Bobcats find success at the plate, but they also found it on the mound.
Freshman left-hander Joe Rock tossed five solid innings to pick up his first career win as a starting pitcher for the Bobcats. Rock held the Eagles, who came in batting over .300 as a team, to just five hits. The one run he gave up was unearned.
“He was really sharp early, threw a lot of strikes,” Smith said. “That got us off to a good start.”
After Rock left the game, the Ohio bullpen gave up just two more hits to Morehead State over their four innings.
The Bobcats will look to continue their offensive surge on Friday night when they travel to Dekalb, Illinois to continue MAC play against the Huskies of Northern Illinois. The Bobcats got the best of Northern Illinois in a three-game set last year, winning two of three in Athens.
First pitch on Friday is set for 4 p.m. at Ralph McKinzie Field.