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For more on Ohio's series finale with Central Michigan on March 28 and thoughts on the entire series, check out this video by WOUB sports director Bryan Kurp.

Ohio Baseball: Chippewas’ Bats Dominate Bobcats in Series Finale; Ohio and CMU Split Series

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Central Michigan is a perennial powerhouse in the Mid-American Conference and proved that point in Sunday’s series finale against Ohio.

After scoring a dozen runs in the second half of the doubleheader on Saturday, Central Michigan (10-8, 2-2 MAC) put on another hitting clinic on Sunday with a 14-3 win over Ohio (9-9, 3-5 MAC).

The Chippewas got to all three of the Bobcats’ pitchers.

“We got to get ahead [in the count], especially on a day like today with the wind blowing out,” Ohio interim head coach Craig Moore said.  “The idea was to kind of get ahead to where we can start to use some of our off-speed pitches.  When you can’t get ahead and you’re pitching behind in the counts, offenses kind of sit back on fastballs and that’s what [Central Michigan] did.”

Jacob Tate got the start for the Bobcats.  After allowing two unearned runs in the first inning, Tate settled down and struck out seven batters in four-plus innings of work.  The only major blemish came in the third inning when Chase Rollin powered a three-run homer over the wall in right center field.  The homer broke the tie and put CMU up, 5-2.

Eamon Horwedel relieved Tate in the fifth inning and allowed five earned runs on seven hits in two innings.

After pitching on Saturday, Colin Sells took the bump again on Sunday in the seventh inning.  The Chippewas also got to Sells, adding on seven hits and four runs.

Not much happened for the Bobcats’ offense as it only picked up four hits the entire afternoon.

A bright spot on the offensive side was senior Sebastian Fabik.  Fabik drove in two of Ohio’s three runs.  The first came in the second inning as Fabik doubled home Spencer Harbert to get the Bobcats on the board.  With Ohio down eight runs in the sixth inning, Fabik drove a ball to the warning track and forced home another run with a sacrifice fly.

“I’ve always believed that your best leaders are your best players,” Moore said.  “If you got your leaders that are performing and then guys will follow and kind of put some extra work in.  I think Sebastian, as one of our team leaders, he definitely brings that to the table.”

Trevor Hafner drove in Fabik later in the second with a single.  Isaiah Peterson and Harry Dukes also picked up hits for the Bobcats.

Despite two-straight big losses to the Chippewas, Ohio still split the series against an opponent that has really given the Bobcats trouble over the past decade.

“We haven’t won two games against Central Michigan since I’ve been here and I’ve been here since 2012,” Moore said.  “I told the guys after the game that was big for us to split [the series].”

Moore also mentioned strong pitching outings from Joe Rock and Edward Kutt IV were essential in the series.  He also credited several players, such as Fabik, Peterson and Hafner, for putting in solid work at the plate throughout the weekend.

Edward Kutt III throws a pitch vs Central Michigan
Edward Kutt III throws a pitch against Central Michigan on Saturday, March 27, 2021. (Photo: Bryan Kurp/WOUB)

Ohio will hit the road for a four-game weekend series against Toledo beginning next Friday.  The Bobcats and Rockets are set to play on Friday, two games on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday.