Sports
Offense leads Ohio Baseball to doubleheader sweep of Canisius
By: Bryan Kurp
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Ohio took a break from its Mid-American Conference schedule and welcomed in Canisius for a doubleheader on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats’ bats stayed hot as well to propel the Bobcats (18-17) to a sweep of the Golden Griffins (17-18), taking game one, 8-7, and the second game, 9-5.
“These were two big games for us,” Ohio head coach Craig Moore said. “It got us above .500 overall for the first time in a while. Again, the offense was outstanding.”
The Bobcat rode the longball to victory in the first game.
The Golden Griffins held a 4-1 lead into the fourth inning but Spencer Harbert just cleared the wall in left field for a three-run homer.
The Bobcats carried the offense into the second game as AJ Rausch opened the scoring with a two-run homer. Ohio crossed home plate six times in the inning.
“It was huge getting a good start and helping out our pitcher,” Rausch said of the big first inning. “It always makes the game easier for out pitchers and it was big.”
“When you can come off the win in game one and start the second the way we did offensively, it can kind of put some doubt in the opponent’s mind,” Moore said.
The early run support helped freshman starter Hudson Boncal, who allowed just two earned runs on six hits in five innings of work. Boncal also picked up his first career win.
“(Boncal’s) starting to get comfortable in that role,” Moore said. “He’s starting to grow a little bit with obviously being a freshman but it was good to see him come out and attack the zone like he did.”
The Golden Griffins brought the game within two runs in the third inning thanks in part to a throwing error by Boncal.
Rausch drove in another run in the fourth with a double to bring home Isaiah Peterson. Rausch finished the game with three hits and and three RBIs.
“It was great,” Rausch said of his performance. “Especially hitting that homerun early that kind of started the game off the right way and kind of build off that.”
Cael Baker extended the lead to four in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single.
Following a Canisius homerun in the seventh, Isaiah Peterson it a sac fly to score Baker to set the final score.
Ohio finished the second game with 11 hits.
Michael Richardson also had a solid three-hit game while Baker finished with a single and double.
Ohio returns to MAC play next weekend when it travels to Miami (OH) for a four-game weekend series.