Sports
Ohio Beats Penguins in First Game of Road Trip
By: Mary Ryznar
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Ohio (16-15) improved to 7-3 on the road after kicking off their six-game road trip with a 6-5 win over Youngstown State (8-21) on Tuesday.
The Bobcats grabbed hold of an early lead in the first few innings with two runs in the second and were up 5-0 going into the bottom of the third.
But, it was in the eighth inning when the game fell into Ohio’s hands. With the game tied at 5, junior right fielder Tony Giannini led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fielding error by YSU that also put redshirt freshman left fielder Ryan Sargent on base. After the Penguins relieved their pitcher, senior shortstop Tyler Finkler laid out a perfect bunt which allowed Giannini to score the winning run.
Senior third baseman Connor Callery and Giannini started the scoring with back-to-back singles and both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Sargent. With the bases loaded, senior center fielder Spencer Ibarra doubled to center, plating both runs to make it 2-0 in the second.
Headed into the bottom of the third, the Bobcats took a 5-0 lead after plating three runs on three hits and a Youngstown State error.
Redshirt junior designated hitter Michael Klein led off with a walk and advanced to second on a base hit by senior second baseman Ty Black. Klein then stole third and scored on the throwing error by the Penguins. The second run was scored after sophomore first baseman Rudy Rott drew a walk that was followed by an infield single by Callery, scoring Black. An infield single by Giannini advanced Rott to third which set him up to score on an RBI ground out by Sargent.
However, Ohio’s lead would not last long as the Penguins caught up by scoring two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth to tie the game 5-5.
Ohio’s starting, pitcher redshirt sophomore Nick Kamrada, went 2.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs until he was relieved by sophomore Kenny Ogg. Ogg went 2.2 innings and allowed two hits and three runs.
Senior pitcher Tom Colletti entered the game in the sixth and threw two innings and only gave up two hits, no runs, and recorded the win for the Bobcats.
Redshirt junior pitcher Cory Blessing relieved Colletti and threw a scoreless home half of the eighth. Redshirt junior Jake Roehn closed with a scoreless frame with two strikeouts, sealing the deal for the Bobcat win. This was Roehn’s seventh save, matching his career high and adding onto a total of fourteen career saves.
Giannini led the ‘Cats at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Rott went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run and Callery tallied two hits and scored a run.
One game down, five to go on the Bobcats’ road trip. Ohio will travel to Huntington, W. Va. to play rival Marshall on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Kennedy Center Field.