Feb. 21, 2009
Army Box Score
Lafayette Box Score
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Looking for its first win of the young season, the Ohio University baseball team only found unexpectedly cold weather in the South, falling to Army, 14-5, and Lafayette, 2-1, Saturday at Wilson Field in a doubleheader of neutral games. The Bobcats (0-3) faced the two Patriot League squads for the first time in school history, in the season opener for both Army (1-0) and Lafayette (1-0).
Against Lafayette, senior starter Zach Fairbanks (Martins Ferry, Ohio) kept Ohio within striking distance, pitching 7.0 innings of one-run ball, while ringing up four Leopards without issuing a free pass. Lafayette's lone run off Fairbanks came in the fourth inning, when senior Daniel Bierce scored on a sacrifice bunt from junior Justin Shepherd.
"We had a nice game against Lafayette," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "I thought (Zach) Fairbanks threw the ball very well and gave us a chance to win. We gave up a run there in the fourth on a bunt and (Bierce) kept coming and basically stole a run on us, but there wasn't much we could do on that."
The Bobcats struggled to push runs across the plate against Leopard starter Zach Fritz, who tossed 6.2 innings of shutout baseball, but in the top of the eighth, senior right fielder Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) evened the score by blasting his fifth-career round-tripper over the left-field wall, one of his three extra-base hits in the contest. Sophomore center fielder Gauntlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) went 2-for-4 in the game, giving him three multi-hit games in as many games this year, while freshman shortstop Bobby Martin (Crystal Lake, Ill.) recorded his first-career hit and stolen base against Lafayette.
"We think Gauntlett (Eldemire)'s playing very well. We'd like to steal him more and do more things with him on the bases, but we just haven't had the opportunities yet. He's a talent and we need him to continue to get on base," Carbone said. "I think (Bobby) Martin has handled himself pretty well. He's still working on some things, but he's handled himself with poise and done some things defensively and on the bases (I'm happy with) and as the season progresses he'll only get better."
Ohio could not keep the Leopard bats quiet however, as Bierce drove in freshman Bobby Fargnoli on a single in the bottom half of the inning for a 2-1 lead, in what would prove to be the winning run, as senior Brian Mostek shut down the 'Cats in the top of the ninth to earn the save. Freshman Ethan Perro garnered the win for Lafayette, while senior Adam Goodpasture (Columbus, Ohio) suffered the loss.
"We're really not swinging the bats like we're capable of doing," Carbone said. "We're capable of being a good-hitting team and we're just not doing that right now. We hit some balls hard at some people and hit into some double plays, but we hit the ball hard. We just didn't have much luck in (the Lafayette game), but we really didn't play that badly. It could've gone either way."
In the morning meeting with defending Patriot League champion Army, the Cadets struck first with a pair of two-run home runs in consecutive innings to grab a 4-0 lead through three. The Bobcats finally connected on Army starting pitcher Matt Fouch in the fifth inning, as Martin brought home sophomore left fielder Adam Gecewich (Strongsville, Ohio) for his first-career RBI, while sophomore second baseman Zach Keen (Beavercreek, Ohio) crossed home plate on an Eldemire single in the next at-bat, putting the score at 4-2 in favor of the Cadets.
Ohio struggled to contain the powerful Army bats however, allowing 10 runs over the next four innings, with the 'Cats managing just one. Junior first baseman Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) cranked his 19th-career bomb over the right-center field wall in the top of the ninth, which also scored Johnston, but it was not enough as Ohio dropped the 14-5 decision.
Fouch picked up the win, allowing just three hits in six innings, with no earned runs and five strikeouts, while Bobcat senior starter Zach Elmer (Delaware, Ohio) took the loss, going four innings, while allowing six runs, but also ringing up six Cadets.
"We faced a very good team in Army," Carbone said. "(Fouch) is the best pitcher in their conference. We faced a real good left-handed pitcher and he was better than we were. We just didn't play very well against Army."
Eldemire, Krauss and sophomore designated hitter Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) each contributed a pair of hits for the Green & White, while Army was led by sophomore right fielder Ben Koenigsfeld's 4-for-4 day at the plate, with four runs and an RBI, and senior left fielder Kyle Fleming, who went 3-for-4 with a trio of RBIs and a pair of runs.
Ohio concludes its opening weekend of play Sunday, Feb. 22 with a rematch against Army. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C.
