Sports
Ohio Drops Sixth-Straight at Marshall
By: Kellen Becoats
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After giving up two grand slams in two innings, things can look grim for any team.
But after losing 18-3 to Marshall on Thursday, the Bobcats will look back at the early innings and wonder what caused their sixth-straight loss.
The Thundering Herd were always going to be a tough team to defeat for Ohio (5-18), who is in the midst of a bad start to the season.
Marshall (17-8) is a very good team that has a lot of offensive weapons, while the Bobcats’ defense has struggled this season. This continued when Leanna Bachman went to the circle for the opening pitch.
Bachman gave up at least two runs in every inning that she pitched, including nine in the third inning and four in the second. Both of those innings saw grand slams slowly take the game farther and farther away from Ohio.
Bachman’s final stat line read: 2.2 innings pitched, 12 hits and 12 runs.
But she wasn’t the only one at fault, as five errors also had a major effect on the game. The Thundering Herd’s offense was in full-force against Ohio and that should not be forgotton.
However, when facing a deficit, the Bobcats’ offense has struggled heavily this season, and that was true of the game on Thursday as well.
Things looked to be getting better after a slew of errors in the top of the third allowed Ohio to score three runs and make the score 6-3. But things stagnated after that for the Bobcats as Marshall went on an offensive tear through the Ohio pitching staff.
With two games against Niagara at home on Saturday and Sunday, the Bobcats have two chances to improve before their conference season begins.
Maybe playing at the Ohio Softball Field will give them a boost, but Ohio definitely needs to gain some momentum before it enters Mid-American Conference play on March 27.