March 27, 2009
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Ohio University baseball team won its third-straight game behind a strong pitching performance from senior starter Chris Rigo to win the series opener at Western Michigan, 2-1, Friday afternoon at Hyames Field. The Bobcats (9-10, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) have now won six of their last seven contests overall and have started league play 3-1 for a second-straight year. With the victory, Ohio has won five straight over the Broncos (5-15, 2-2 MAC) and evened the all-time series at 51.
Rigo (Westlake, Ohio) conceded no runs and just two hits over his first eight innings, en route to a season-long eight and two-thirds innings outing, while holding WMU to four singles in the game, the fewest hits Ohio has allowed all year. The one run is also a season low for a Bobcat opponent this season. Rigo (2-1) struck out eight Broncos and issued just one free pass to garner his second-straight win, before giving way to senior Adam Goodpasture (Columbus, Ohio), who recorded the final out and earned his first-career save. Western Michigan junior starter Billy Morrison also had a strong outing, tossing seven innings and allowing just two runs on six hits with three strikeouts, but suffered the loss and fell to 2-4 in 2009.
"It was two outstanding pitchers today," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "Both Chris and Billy pitched very well today. Chris pitched eight great innings and pitched two-thirds of the ninth, which really gave us a boost today."
Ohio led 2-0 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Broncos sandwiched a pair of hits around a fly out to bring senior Nathan Marquardt, who served as the game-winning run, to the plate. Marquardt appeared to have hit the game-winning walk-off home run, but sophomore center fielder Gauntlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) robbed Marquardt and WMU of the win, by making a game-saving catch over the outfield wall. The Broncos brought a run home on the sac fly and junior Matt Abro followed by striking out, but reached on an error by senior catcher Chris Klimko (McKeesport, Pa.) to extend the game. Goodpasture then entered and forced junior Max Kelmigian to ground out to second to secure the win.
"The play of the game was Gauntlett's catch in center field," Carbone said. "He robbed a home run, a three-run homer, so that was the play of the day. It was a great catch."
Eldemire also paced Ohio at the plate with a pair of hits and a run, giving him seven multi-hit games in his last nine contests. Senior right fielder Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) continued his seven-game hitting streak with an RBI single in the fourth, while sophomore designated hitter Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) belted his third home run of the season in the seventh.
The 'Cats tallied their first run in the fourth frame when Eldemire led off with a double and came around to score on Johnston's single to center field. Maddox then made it 2-0 with his blast over the right-center-field wall in the seventh.
Ohio and Western Michigan will conclude their series Saturday, March 28, with a doubleheader beginning at noon ET. The two squads were originally scheduled to play a single game at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, but due to expected inclement weather and cold temperatures Sunday, the two schools will play a pair of games tomorrow to round out the three-game set. Both games will be broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens and streamed live on OhioBobcats.com, with the "Voice of the Bobcats" Russ Eisenstein and Brian Boesch beginning pre-game coverage at 11:45 a.m. ET.
