April 8, 2008
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio baseball team led 5-4 after six innings Tuesday evening, but Xavier brought four runs across the plate in the next two innings to walk away with an 8-5 victory at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio drops to 15-13 on the season, while Xavier improves to 12-15.
Ohio senior Matt Stiffler (Bellbrook, Ohio) hit his team-high sixth home run in his first at-bat to extend his school-record hitting streak to 23 games. Stiffler went 2-for-5 on the day, with two RBI and two runs scored.
Trailing 4-3, the Bobcats scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to regain a 5-4 advantage. Freshman catcher Trace Voshell (Batavia, Ohio) singled to left field to drive in pinch hitter Jeremie Rehak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) for the first run of the inning, followed by an RBI by Stiffler, scoring freshman Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio).
The Musketeers took back the lead in the top of the seventh inning on back-to-back RBI-singles. Xavier then added two more runs in the eighth inning to secure the win with the final score of 8-5.
In the bottom of the third inning, senior Zach Hartle (Toledo, Ohio) crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) to give Ohio a 3-0 lead. The Musketeers responded in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs on four hits, the last one coming off an Ohio error, to take its first lead of the game at 4-3.
Ohio right fielder Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Rehak was 1-for-2 with one run scored after coming in as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Voshell went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Lefty Matt Smith (Centre Hall, Pa.) got the start for the Bobcats, striking out one and walking two while giving up only two hits and no runs in three innings on the hill. Ohio then used a plethora of pitchers over the course of the six innings, but couldn't overcome the three errors committed to sustain the lead. Righty Brett Greenwell (1-2) picked up the win for Xavier.
Junior right-hander Kevin Mementowski (Parma, Ohio) takes the loss for the Bobcats, after throwing 2.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out one. Mementowski is now 0-2 on the season.
The Bobcats travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on Wednesday at 7 p.m. They return to Athens on Friday for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan.
