Sports
Hermanek Gets Tossed, Ohio Swept by Miami
By: Kellen Becoats
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Everything changed in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 10-1 loss to Miami.
The RedHawks were up to bat and, with a runner on second, the Miami batter appeared to leave the batter’s box on her hit. The throw to try and reach her at first was high and it scored another run as the RedHawks took a 3-1 lead.
That fired Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek up and she let the umpire behind the plate know about it. After first being restrained, she continued to scream at the umpire until she was eventually tossed for her tirade.
While she probably meant to fire her team up in a crucial moment of the game, it backfired, as the RedHawks went on to score four more runs after that and make a competitive game a blow out fairly quickly.
To that point, the game had been pretty managable. Spare a two-run homer by … in the top of the second, the Bobcats’ (15-28, 7-9 in MAC) defense held strong for much of the game. The offense even got a run on the board in the bottom of the third when junior Sloan Walker looped one into left center, allowing junior Amanda Dalton to show off her speed as she raced home.
That run made it 2-1 and Ohio looked like it had started to heat up in the the middle of the game.
A few great defensive sequences, like Dalton fielding a grounder and slinging it to home in time to prevent a run in the fifth or Lauren McClary coming in and forcing a fly out with runners on second and third, come to mind but the Bobcats were at a loss in the top of the sixth.
After Hermanek’s ejection, the Ohio defense just couldn’t get itself settled and the RedHawks () took advantage. The Bobcats needed at least to win at least one of the game of the weekend series to stay afloat in the MAC Tournament standings, but thanks to Akron dropping three games (check) Ohio still has a chance.
Its last games of the season will be at home against that Akron team and with both teams having similar records, it should be a great two-game series with postseason aspirations on the line.