March 20, 2009
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University baseball team plated eight runs in the first two innings Friday at Bob Wren Stadium and cruised to a 9-5 victory over visiting Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. The Bobcats (6-9, 1-0 MAC) have now won three-straight games for the first time all year and won their league opener for the second-straight season, both times over the Chippewas (8-11, 0-1 MAC).
Senior starter Chris Rigo (Westlake, Ohio) earned his first win of the year, improving to 1-1, tossing a season-long seven innings, while allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits and fanning five Chippewas. Senior Steve Teno took the loss for CMU, as he fell to 1-3 on the year after giving up eight runs in the first two innings, before settling down and keeping Ohio quiet over his final four innings of work. He allowed 10 hits and three walks, but totaled six strikeouts in his six innings on the hill.
"Chris was big for us, giving us seven quality innings," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "He threw a lot of pitches, but he's a strong guy who led the MAC last year in innings pitched, so he can go deep into games and that was a real shot in the arm for us to start the first game of conference play with a performance like that."
Senior right fielder Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) collected two hits, two RBIs and a pair of runs in the game for his third-straight multi-hit game, while senior second baseman Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a game-high four hits, including two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Junior Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) tallied two hits and scored twice, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, one shy of tying his career high.
The Chips pushed a run across home in the first, as junior Billy Anderson scored on freshman Rhett Goodmiller's double to right field, one of his three hits on the day. Johnston then put Ohio on top in the bottom half of the first with a two-RBI double down the left-field line that scored sophomore center fielder Gauntlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) and Krauss. Johnston trotted home on an error by CMU freshman shortstop William Arnold later in the inning for a 3-1 Bobcat lead through one stanza.
Eldemire made it 5-1 in the second with a two-run bomb over the left-center field wall, his third homer in four games. Two batters later, sophomore designated hitter Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) drilled a two-run shot of his own and the 'Cats tacked on one more on junior first baseman Jerod Yakubik's (Byesville, Ohio) RBI single, which stretched his hitting streak to eight games and gave the Green & White an 8-1 lead after two.
Central Michigan sliced into Ohio's lead with a run in the fourth, but stranded runners on the corners to keep the 'Cats on top by six. CMU scored again in the fifth as redshirt freshman Nate Theunissen grounded out, bringing home sophomore Matt Faiman from third base, making it an 8-3 ballgame though five complete.
Krauss crossed home in the eighth on a Besl RBI double, his fourth hit of the game, for an insurance run. The Bobcats brought in junior reliever Bryce Butt (Omaha, Neb.) to close out the win, which he did, despite conceding a two-run blast in the ninth to Theunissen, who finished with a game-high three RBIs. Butt tossed the final two innings, allowing just the two runs on a pair of hits, while issuing no free passes and earning four of his six outs via strikeout.
"I told the guys before the game, `if we win the game, don't get too excited and if we lose the game, don't get too depressed because it's a marathon,'" Carbone said. "You always want to win, but we've only got one down and still two to go, so we're trying to keep an even keel and hopefully we can play as well the next two days as we did today."
The two squads continue their MAC-opening series Saturday, March 21, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. ET at Bob Wren Stadium. Tomorrow's contest will have live stats available on OhioBobcats.com and will be broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens and on OhioBobcats.com, with pre-game coverage beginning at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Notes: Senior catcher Chris Klimko (McKeesport, Pa.) made his first start of the year behind the plate and collected his first hit of the year in the game ... Ohio has used 14 different defensive lineups (minus the pitcher) in 15 games ... Krauss earned a free pass in the game, moving him into sole possession of sixth place on Ohio's career walks list with 96 ... With his home run, Eldemire continued his hitting streak to seven games ... Besl totaled four hits in the game, but did not even have a three-hit game this year entering Friday ... The Bobcats picked up their first win of the season when facing a left-handed starter, as Ohio was 0-5 previously ... The 'Cats are now 8-13 in MAC openers and 10-11 in MAC home openers under Carbone.
