Sports
Ohio Baseball falls in one-run game, drops series to VMI
By: Thomas Henry
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — On a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, Ohio Baseball (9-25) came up just short against Virginia Military Institute (23-14), dropping the rubber match of the three-game series against the Keydets with a 4-3 defeat.
Looking to get off on the right foot after Saturday’s blowout loss, the Bobcats drew first blood in the first inning on an RBI double by first baseman Trae Cassidy that scored shortstop and leadoff hitter Matt Ineich to give Ohio an early 1-0 lead. From there, starter Hunter Winston delivered a solid performance on the mound, keeping the Keydets off the board through the first four innings and benefitting from some good plays on defense by Ohio, highlighted in the top of the third inning when Bobcats centerfielder Trenton Neuer connected with Ineich on a relay that threw out a VMI runner at home after an errant pickoff throw to second base.
The game remained in Ohio’s favor until the top of the fifth when Winston was relieved in favor of Trey Barkman after loading the bases on three walks. Barkman was unable to get out of the inning, walking two more Keydets before finally getting out of the jam. Ohio responded immediately in the bottom of the inning with a bases-loaded free pass of their own to knot things up again, but VMI struck right back in the sixth with a two-run single to take a 4-2 lead. The Bobcats drew within a run thanks to a solo home run by third baseman Nick Dolan in the bottom of the inning but were unable to get into the Keydets’ bullpen any further. Caleb Karll replaced left fielder Brady Alexander in the top of the ninth inning and made a good catch to rob an extra-base hit and help keep VMI at bay, but it went in vain. Despite the series loss, head coach Craig Moore had reason to be encouraged.
“I thought all three starters actually did a pretty decent job of getting us into the game,” Moore said when reflecting on the series. “We saw some back-end guys step up on Friday night and today, and they were able to keep the game in check there to give our offense a chance. So, I think that was an encouraging things, and defensively we played a lot better this week than we’ve been playing in the past month, so yeah, a lot of good things to take away.”
Ohio will travel west to play the Dayton Flyers in a single game on Tuesday before opening a conference series with three games against Kent State, starting on Thursday at 6 p.m.