ATHENS, Ohio ? Four Bobcat hurlers combined for an 11-hit shutout, while a two-run third lifted Ohio to a 3-0 victory over Division II powerhouse West Virginia State Wednesday in non-conference action at Bob Wren Stadium.

Ohio (13-13) has now reeled off 10 wins in their last 11 games and are now .500 heading into a pivotal Mid-American Conference match-up this weekend with Marshall.

A pair of runs in the third and a well-manufactured score in the fourth were all the Ohio pitching staff needed Wednesday. Starter Luke Howard (Lebanon, Ohio) (3-1) got the ball rolling and earned the win, while closer Dan O?Rourke (Monongahela, Pa.) (2) silenced the final WVSU threat in the ninth to earn the save.

?I thought all the pitchers did a pretty good job,? said Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone. ?They threw strikes and got us some groundballs. I also thought we played excellent defense; we made some good plays and turned some double plays.?

After going quietly in the first and second, Ohio plated the game?s first run in the bottom of the third. As it would turn out, that was the only run they would need.

Ryan Planck (Canton, Ohio) kicked off the inning with a sharp line drive up the middle, reached second on a wild pitch and advanced to third after a single to right off the bat of Dusty Hammond (Bellefontaine, Ohio). That rolled the lineup back over to the top, allowing leadoff hitter Phil Sabatini (Oakmont, Pa.) to pick up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Planck and putting the Bobcats on top 1-0.

Ohio put another tally on the board in third, capitalizing on a Yellow Jacket miscue. With two outs and runners on the corners, Ben Crabtree (Roxbury, Conn.) grounded to the WVSU shortstop, who bobbled the ball and threw late to second. All runners were safe, including Hammond who trotted home from third for Ohio?s second run.

The Bobcats added a third run in the fourth inning. Bryant Witt (Powell, Ohio) reached after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Witt would come around to score three batters later when Hammond singled through the left side, giving Ohio a 3-0 lead.

At that point, Carbone made his first call to the bullpen. Howard?s day came to a close after four shutout innings. He scattered five hits, struck out three and didn?t let a runner past second base.

Spelling Howard would be righty Yale Silverman (Baton Rouge, La.). The senior came on and picked up right where Howard left off, allowing three hits in four innings of work before handing the ball back over to the bullpen.

Daniel Utts (Circleville, Ohio) entered the game in the ninth, but couldn?t seal the deal. He struck out a batter, but two base hits put the tying runner at the plate. Carbone again went to the pen, this time calling on O?Rourke.

The first hitter singled, loading bases, but then the senior closer would put out the fire in commanding fashion. O?Rourke sat the next two batters down on strikes and cemented Ohio?s sixth mid-week win in seven tries.

The bottom of the order treated Ohio well on Wednesday, as eight-hitter Planck collected two hits and a run in his fourth start of the season.

?We wanted to get Planck in the lineup,? Carbone said. ?He?s been looking good in batting practice and much better in the outfield. We wanted to give him a chance to get some at-bats and see what he looked like. I thought he did a good job.?

Nine-hitter Hammond was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Three is a new career-high in base hits for the sophomore second baseman.

The Bobcats will hop back into conference play this weekend and continue the second half of their 10-game home stand at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio and Marshall will meet for a three-game set, beginning with 7 p.m. starts on Friday and Saturday and concluding with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.