Sports
Ohio’s Nine Runs Not Enough to Beat Marshall
By: Russ Heltman
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Ohio Baseball suffered their first loss of a long mid-season road trip 12-9 at the hands of the Marshall Thundering Herd.
Marshall (16-16) utilized a four-inning scoring stretch to plate all 12 of their runs against the Bobcats (16-16). Tyler Ratliff led the Herd bats, going 1-for-3 with a home run and four runs scored. Meanwhile, Andrew Zban contributed a 2-for-4 day at the plate, two RBIs, and a home run.
Marshall blew the scoring doors open in the bottom of the third inning when Ohio third basemen Connor Callery committed a throwing error with the bases loaded. Three Herd runners scored on the mishap and the Ohio defense struggled to settle back into a rhythm.
With the game tied at four runs, the Herd sensed their opportunity and took advantage.
Highlighted by Ratliff’s three-run homer, Marshall scored eight runs over the next three innings to crush any hope of a Bobcat rally. Marshall pitcher and former Jackson High School football legend Hunter Sexton was awarded the win. The freshman pitched two innings, allowing one earned run on three hits.
For the Bobcats, outfielder Spencer Ibarra continued his stellar 2017 campaign with a 2-for-5 day at the plate. Ibarra led the game off with a home run, his fifth homer this season. The Colorado native added two more RBIs, one on a sixth-inning double that scored Tyler Finkler and another on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning that scored Ryan Sargent.
Ohio senior second baseman Ty Black had one of his best offensive games of the season with two hits, one a home run, and three RBIs.
After being rocked by Central Michigan this past weekend, Ohio starting pitcher Butch Baird threw two strong innings in his first outing since facing the Chippewas. Baird allowed just two hits and struck out four Marshall batters before being replaced in the third inning by freshman lefty Derek Carr. Senior Matt Mikolajczak suffered the loss after allowing three of Ohio’s four earned runs in 1.2 innings of work.
Ohio attempted an eighth inning comeback sparked by the aforementioned Ibarra hit by pitch but the effort wasn’t enough to phase the Marshall defense out of their comfortable lead.
The Bobcats now shift their focus north where they will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich. for a three-game series with the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET at Oestrike Stadium on Friday.