April 18, 2009
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Photo Gallery
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio University sophomore Gauntlett Eldemire drilled a walk-off home run in the 13th inning of game two Saturday at Bob Wren Stadium to cap a twin bill sweep of Akron, as the Bobcats claimed the night cap 9-8, after taking game one 9-4. With the pair of victories, Ohio (19-14, 12-3 Mid-American Conference) completed a weekend sweep of Akron (9-26, 6-9 MAC), the 'Cats' second MAC sweep this season (at Western Michigan being the other). The 'Cats now rest in first place in the MAC's East Division and in the conference overall, leading Kent State by half a game.
Eldemire's (Shaker Heights, Ohio) walk-off blast was his second this season (March 4 versus Pitt) and gave Ohio its second five-game winning streak of 2009. He drove in four runs for the 'Cats between the two contests.
"We told Gauntlett to be aggressive before he went up to bat (in the 13th inning) because he had been trying to force things (earlier in the game)," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "He's very capable of driving the ball, so we just felt we had to pump him up mentally."
Junior Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) paved the way in game two going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, two RBIs and three runs scored. The four hits were a season high for Krauss, while the two four-baggers gave him four multi-homer games on the year and six in his career. He now has 16 round-trippers in 2009, which ties him for sixth on Ohio's single-season list, and 34 in his career, which also moved him into a tie for sixth on the career home runs ledger.
Senior Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) went 3-for-6 in the night cap, including a home run and a double, with a pair of RBIs and runs each, while also stealing his first base of the season.
Junior reliever Bryce Butt (Omaha, Neb.) pitched the game's final five innings (four in extra innings), a season-long outing, without allowing a single run or free pass, while fanning two Zips, to grab the win and move to 3-5 on the year. Butt also locked down the front end of the doubleheader by throwing one and a third innings of shutout ball, after pitching one and a third innings of no-run ball Friday versus Akron.
"Bryce was fabulous. He got the job done for us Friday and came in the first game and we were trying not to use him in the second game, but he ended up pitching five shutout innings, so he did a great job," Carbone said. "I thought all the pitchers today went out there and competed."
Senior Ryne Romick (0-2) took the loss after conceding Eldemire's walk-off shot, despite tossing five innings and giving up just two runs on three hits.
Johnston's fifth homer of the season, a two-run blast in the third stanza of game two, put Ohio ahead 3-1, but the lead didn't last long, as Akron sent six runs across the plate in the fourth, with two coming on a double by sophomore Brandon White, two on a throwing error by Johnston and two on junior Kyle Hallett's first blast of the season.
The 'Cats chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by sophomore shortstop Zach Keen (Beavercreek, Ohio) to make it 7-4 and tied it in the fifth with three runs. The Zips broke the deadlock in the eighth, however, on an RBI single by Hallett that plated White, but Krauss' second round-tripper of the game in the bottom of the eighth again evened the count at 8-8. Neither team threatened in the ninth, forcing Ohio's first extra-inning affair of the year.
Both teams were able to put men on third base with one out during the extra frames, Ohio in the 11th and Akron in the 13th, but neither were able to capitalize, allowing Eldemire to club his ninth home run of the year on the first pitch in the home half of the 13th.
"We battled back after giving up a big inning (in the fourth) and chipped away," Carbone said. "We had chances to win it (in extra innings) and didn't quite do it, but we hung in there and sooner or later somebody does something good to help us win and I'm glad it was Gauntlett."
In the front end of the twin bill, junior starter Rex Ingham (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned the win and improved to 6-0 on the year, tossing a season-long seven innings, while allowing four runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Akron senior starter Frank Turocy (2-5) was handed the loss, as he allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in three innings of work.
Senior Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the charge in game one going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs and RBIs apiece. Sophomore designated hitter Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) had two hits, two RBIs and two runs each, while fellow sophomore Adam Gecewich (Strongsville, Ohio) went 3-for-4 and totaled five hits on the day.
Ohio jumped on Akron early in the day's first game, as the 'Cats batted around in the first frame, plating five runs, including two on a Maddox double and two on junior first baseman Jerod Yakubik's (Byesville, Ohio) second-career home run. In the third, Zip junior Kevin Haas drilled his sixth homer of the year to make it a 5-1 game.
Eldemire gave the 'Cats a six-run cushion in the home half of the third on a two-RBI single that scored Besl and Yakubik. White answered in the fourth with a two-RBI single of his own to pull the Zips within four at 7-3.
A Besl single in the fourth brought Maddox home and Gecewich trotted across the plate in the fifth on an Eldemire sac fly for a 9-3 Bobcat edge. Akron tallied a run in the sixth to close within five, but left the bases loaded in the eighth when junior Butt forced a ground out to second. He then closed out the 9-4 win for the Bobcats in the ninth.
Ohio returns to action Tuesday, April 21 at Marshall for a 3 p.m. ET contest, before hosting West Virginia, Wednesday, April 22 at Bob Wren Stadium, with first pitch set for 4 p.m. ET. Ohio fell to the Mountaineers, 10-9, April 1 in Morgantown. Live stats will be available for both games on OhioBobcats.com, with Wednesday's game also being broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens and streamed live on OhioBobcats.com, as the "Voice of the Bobcats" Russ Eisenstein and Brian Boesch will take to the air at 3:45 p.m. ET with pre-game coverage.
Notes: Ohio scored multiple runs in the first inning for the second-straight game in game one Saturday ... Besl's double in the third inning of game one moved him into sole possession of second place on Ohio's career doubles list with 54 ... With a Krauss walk in game one, he moved into sole possession of fourth on Ohio's career free passes list with 108 ... Yakubik registered multiple RBIs in all three games this weekend versus Akron ... Ohio was hit by eight pitches in the two games Saturday, upping its total to 67 hit by pitches this season, which ranks first in the MAC ... With the win in game one, the Bobcats improved to 13-1 when limiting their opponent to five runs or less ... With nine at-bats Saturday, Besl moved into seventh place on Ohio's career at-bats list with 680 ... Krauss' two RBIs put him in sole possession of ninth on the Bobcats' career RBIs ledger and his four runs on the day gave him 146 career runs, good enough for seventh all-time at Ohio ... Krauss also now ranks seventh all-time with 342 total bases ... The 12-3 start in MAC play is Ohio's best start in the conference since 1997, when the Bobcats also started 12-3 and went on to win the MAC.
