March 21, 2009
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University baseball team lost a back-and-forth contest Saturday afternoon at Bob Wren Stadium, as Central Michigan used a two-RBI single in the ninth to break a deadlock and squeak out the 12-10 win. With the victory, the Chippewas (9-11, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) evened the MAC-opening series for both teams and snapped the Bobcats' (6-10, 1-1 MAC) three-game winning streak.
With two out and two on in the top of the ninth inning, CMU redshirt freshman Nate Theunissen scorched the first pitch he saw back up the middle to bring home freshman Rhett Goodmiller and junior Billy Anderson from second and third, respectively, which cracked a 10-10 tie and scored what proved to be the winning runs.
"We're very disappointed in the loss," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "We just didn't pitch well and didn't get ahead of the hitters. Some of our guys in the infield reacted differently (to ground balls) from what they do at their normal (starting) positions, so I can't blame them, but we just didn't close the game out."
Junior reliever Bryce Butt (Omaha, Neb.), who surrendered Theunissen's go-ahead single, suffered the loss and fell to 0-3. Butt pitched 1.1 innings, giving up two hits and the two runs, to go along with a pair of strikeouts. Senior reliever Chris Kupillas (2-1) earned the win by tossing the final 1.2 innings and giving up just a hit, while fanning three 'Cats. Ohio starter Zach Elmer (Delaware, Ohio) and Chippewa starter Dan Taylor each surrendered four earned runs, with Elmer going 4.1 innings and allowing seven runs, while issuing four free passes and striking out five, and Taylor hurling four innings of eight-run ball with three ring ups.
The two squads each had 15 hits and combined for seven errors, while the Bobcats stranded 13 runners compared to CMU's 10. Sophomore designated hitter Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) paced Ohio's attack with a Bobcat season-high and career-high tying four hits, while also driving in a pair of runs. Junior third baseman Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) registered three hits, an RBI and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 15 games, tying his career long, and giving him multiple hits in six of his last seven contests. Senior right fielder Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) collected his fourth-straight multi-hit game with a pair of hits, and added three RBIs and two runs on the day.
Theunissen, who led Central Michigan with three RBIs in the game, put the Chippewas on top in the first for the second-straight day on an RBI single and CMU added two more in the first, pouncing to a 3-0 lead early. Maddox singled to center field in the bottom of the first, scoring Krauss, before Anderson made it 4-1 on an RBI groundout to second base in the second.
The Bobcats chipped into the Chippewas lead on another RBI single by Maddox, this time scoring Johnston, who slid into home just before the throw from left field arrived, making it 4-2 after three stanzas. Goodmiller then doubled in the fourth, scoring Anderson, but sophomore left fielder Adam Gecewich (Strongsville, Ohio) drilled his second-career home run, and first of the year, in the next half inning to keep it a two-run game.
Johnston delivered a big blow later in the fourth with a three-run four-bagger over the left-field fence, his fourth round-tripper of the year, to put Ohio ahead for the first time in the game, 6-5. The Bobcats' lead didn't last long however, as Central Michigan regained the lead a half inning later, pushing three unearned runs across with the help of two Ohio errors.
In the bottom of the fifth Ohio took back the lead, 9-8, as sophomore center fielder Gauntlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) knotted the count at eight with a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle that scored senior second baseman Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior first baseman Jerod Yakubik (Byesville, Ohio). Krauss followed with a single that scored sophomore shortstop Zach Keen (Beavercreek, Ohio) from second.
After two scoreless innings, junior pinch hitter Dale Cornstubble belted a ball over the left-field wall for a two-run shot, his first homer of the season, that gave CMU a 10-9 lead in the top of the eighth. The 'Cats loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning without registering a hit and Besl scampered home on a past ball to even the game at 10, before Eldemire whiffed to end the Ohio threat.
Theunissen then scored the go-ahead runs in the final frame and Kupillas forced Besl, who served as the tying run, to fly out to center field, preserving the Central Michigan win.
The Bobcats and Chippewas play the rubber match of their MAC-opening series Sunday, March 22 at Bob Wren Stadium, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET. Junior Rex Ingham (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will take the hill for Ohio, while freshman Zach Cooper is scheduled to start on the mound for CMU. Live stats will be available for Sunday's finale on OhioBobcats.com and the game will be broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens and on OhioBobcats.com, with pre-game coverage beginning at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Notes: Eldemire stretched his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the fourth inning ... Yakubik used a double in the fifth stanza to move his hitting streak to a career-best nine games, while junior catcher Kris McDonough (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has hit safely in a career-long eight-straight games after a double in the second.
