March 30, 2008
Box Score | Western Michigan Series 
ATHENS, Ohio - Junior Chris Klimko (McKeesport, Pa.) hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Ohio baseball team a 5-4 victory against Western Michigan and a series sweep of the Broncos Sunday afternoon at Bob Wren Stadium.
Ohio (12-10) has now won eight of its last 10 games and is 5-1 in Mid-American Conference action, its best start since the 1997 season when the team went on to capture the MAC Championship. Western Michigan (12-7-1) falls to 0-3 in MAC play.
"We've played six games in conference and we are happy with our start, but we've got 21 more to go," said Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone. "I tell our guys all the time that the baseball season is a marathon, so don't get too excited at the beginning, because there's a long way to go."
With the score knotted at 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th, sophomore Marc Kruass (Deshler, Ohio) walked to lead off the inning, followed by a single down the left field line by freshman Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio). Krauss slid in safely at third base on the single and Maddox moved to second base on the throw to third. Freshman Guantlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) was then intentionally walked to load the bases for Klimko. The junior catcher delivered, hitting a low line drive down the third base line that bounced off third base and into shallow left field, scoring Krauss for the winning run.
The victory was the 301st MAC win for Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone, moving him in front of former Eastern Michigan coach Roger Coryell for second place in MAC history in conference wins. Carbone's record in the MAC over his 20 seasons with the Bobcats is 301-243.
"(Moving into second) means nothing to me personally, it just means I've been here a long time" said Carbone. "For all the guys that have played here and all the coaches that have coached with me here since 1989, those are the guys that win ball games, I'm just a representative of them."
Ohio senior left-hander Matt Smith (Centre Hall, Pa.) threw 3.1 innings in relief, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out two, to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Klimko was 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Maddox III finished 3-for-5 with his seventh double of the season and Krauss went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and one RBI. Senior Matt Stiffler (Bellbrook, Ohio) nearly had his hitting streak come to an end, before hitting a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to extend the streak to 17 games.
Ohio took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, behind three straight run producing hits. Hartle lined an RBI-single to score the first run, followed by an RBI-triple off the wall in straightaway center by Krauss, and an RBI-double by Maddox III.
Ohio starting pitcher Jason Moulton (Toledo, Ohio) held the Western Michigan batters in check for the first five innings, but the Broncos were finally able to get to him in the sixth. Chris Lewis hit a solo home run over the wall in right center to bring the score to 3-1 and then an RBI-single by Derek Mosher ended Moulton's day. The Broncos brought one more run across the plate to tie the game at 3-3 on a passed ball.
Moulton went 5.2 innings on the hill allowing five hits and two earned runs and striking out five.
Ohio momentarily regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning off an RBI-single by sophomore Jeremie Rehak (Pittsburgh, Pa.). With Klimko on second base, Rehak lined a shot to left field, and after rounding third Klimko appeared to have no chance at scoring, but a collision at the plate jarred the ball loose, giving Ohio a 4-3 lead.
The lead was short lived, as Western Michigan scored a run in the top of the seventh inning to once again knot the score, 4-4, setting up the extra-inning heroics.
The sweep is Ohio's first three-game conference sweep in two seasons.
The Bobcats are next in action at Duquesne University on Tuesday, April 1.
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Wes Liles is the baseball contact in the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at liles@ohio.edu.
