Sports
Bobcats Begin MAC Play with 6-4 Win
By: Eric Singer, Tyler Prich
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The Ohio Bobcats began the 2015 Mid-American Conference season with a 6-4 win on the road Friday against Central Michigan, continuing their upstart season. With the win, Ohio (12-6, 1-0 MAC) eclipses its win total from the entire 2014 season (11).
Junior pitcher Connor Sitz tossed four solid innings on the mound for the ‘Cats, as he allowed just two earned runs on only four hits, but walked five batters. Sophomore pitcher Christian Botter picked up the win for Ohio, his second of the season, after throwing 1.1 innings of one run, two-hit baseball.
With the score tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Garrett Black hammered a bases-loaded double to left-center and to give Ohio a 3-1 lead. Mitch Longo would score Manny Dejesus on the next at-bat with an RBI groundout to push the Ohio lead to 4-1.
Central Michigan’s Alex Borglin would have a small response in the bottom of the fifth inning with an RBI-single. But Ty Black responded with an RBI-single of his own in the top of the sixth to bring Ohio’s lead to 5-2.
The Chippewas scored two more runs via a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the sixth and eighth innings, but the Bobcats bullpen closed the door. Ohio’s Logan Cozart continued his strong start as he picked up his fifth save of the season by throwing a scoreless ninth inning where he struck out the side.
Ty Black and Jake Madsen led the way for Ohio’s offense, as both finished the day with two hits and one RBI each.
Ohio will play game two of the series against Central Michigan (13-9, 0-1) on Saturday as the Bobcats are seeking their first series win over the Chippewas since 2009. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.