April 22, 2008
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio baseball team broke out of its recent slump at the plate Tuesday evening, connecting on a season-high 24 hits and blasting a season-high six home runs in an 18-6 victory against Cincinnati at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio moves back to .500 on the season at 19-19 and ends a three-game losing streak with the win, while Cincinnati drops to 23-15 on the season.
Senior Matt Stiffler (Bellbrook, Ohio) led the offensive onslaught with two three-run blasts, coming in the bottom of the fifth and eighth innings, lifting his home run total to a team-high 10. Sophomore Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio), junior Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio), junior Chris Klimko (McKeesport, Pa.) and sophomore Jeremie Rehak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) all joined in on the game of long ball, connecting on one apiece.
Stiffler, Besl, Klimko and freshman Zach Keen (Beavercreek, Ohio) each collected three hits, as 11 Bobcats posted hits in the game, including nine players with multi-hit games. Stiffler totaled a team-season high six RBI in the contest to go with three runs scored.
After the first five innings it appeared Ohio was on its way to a blowout victory as the Bobcats led 9-1. Then in the final inning and a half Ohio was once again lighting up the scoreboard, but for a brief moment in the seventh inning the game was much closer then the final box score would indicate.
Leading 9-1 in the top of the seventh, Ohio went through three pitchers and gave up five runs before junior right-hander Matt Schlarb (Lexington, Ohio) came in and struck out the first two batters he faced to get out of a bases-loaded jam. Schlarb worked the final 2.2 innings, striking out a season-high six batters and allowing no hits and no runs to end any chances of a Bearcat comeback and set the stage for Ohio's bats. Schlarb earned his second save of the season for his strong performance on the hill.
With the lead trimmed to 9-6 Ohio immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning. Rehak led off the inning with a pinch-hit home run. Three batters later Krauss knocked a two-run shot to right field and then Besl capped the inning with a solo-shot over the left field wall, giving Ohio a 13-6 advantage.
Ohio's offensive attack continued in the bottom of the eighth, as Klimko led off the inning with a four-bagger, followed by Stiffler's three-run bomb and a pinch-hit RBI-single by freshman Trace Voshell (Batavia, Ohio) for the final score of 18-6.
Senior lefty Matt Smith (Centre Hall, Pa.) and senior John Angelicchi (Woodmere, Ohio) combined to throw the first five innings for Ohio, allowing just five hits and no runs to give Ohio the seemingly comfortable early lead. Smith went three innings, allowing four hits to go with two strikeouts to improve to 4-1 on the season. Angelicchi went two innings and gave up just one hit in his time on the mound.
Ohio freshman Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
Ohio returns to action Wednesday night against Marshall at Bob Wren Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
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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.
