April 29, 2009
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Photo Gallery
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University baseball team clubbed eight home runs en route to sweeping a doubleheader of seven-inning games from Division III Otterbein College (19-14), 11-3 and 14-1, Wednesday at Bob Wren Stadium. The Bobcats (22-16, 13-5 Mid-American Conference) tagged three round-trippers in game one and five in game two, while pumping out a combined 24 hits on the day. Ohio has now registered double-digit hits in nine-straight games.
Junior third baseman Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) belted a pair of four-baggers in the front end of the twin bill for his fifth multi-homer game this year. He now has 19 home runs on the season, which moved him into second on Ohio's single-season list, one shy of tying the school record. He also now has 37 career bombs, which bumps him into fourth all-time at Ohio. Krauss went 3-for-3 in game one with four RBIs and four runs each, while his other hit was a double.
Senior second baseman Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) went 4-for-8 on the day, tallying a pair of hits and runs each in both contests, while adding two RBIs and hitting his ninth homer of the season in the night cap, which extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Sophomore left fielder Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) had three hits on the day, including his eighth blast of the year in game two, while collecting four RBIs in the two games. Freshman shortstop Bobby Martin (Crystal Lake, Ill.) chipped in two hits and drove in two runs in game two, while sophomore center Gauntlett Eldemire (Shaker Heights, Ohio) went 2-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs each in the second contest, including two long balls for his second-career multi-homer game, giving him 13 round-trippers on the season.
"When we get our pitch and put a good swing on the ball, we've got some guys that are capable of hitting the ball a long ways," Ohio head coach Joe Carbone said. "Krauss, Johnston, Eldemire and Maddox are all capable (of hitting home runs), so when they've got their swing down and they're ahead in the count, they can sit on their pitch and do a good job."
A pair of freshman picked up their first-career wins on the mound, as Nick Egan (Wheaton, Ill.) tossed a career-best four innings and rung up a career-high four Cardinals without allowing an earned run to get the win in game one (his first start and decision as a Bobcat), while Brent Choban (Barberton, Ohio) earned the victory in game two, hurling four and two-thirds innings of work with just one run allowed and eight strikeouts, tying Ohio's season high for one pitcher.
In the day's opening game, the Bobcats jumped on the board in the first frame on senior shortstop Brandon Besl's (Cincinnati, Ohio) two-RBI double down the left-field line for an early 2-0 edge. The Cardinals evened the game in the second, scoring two runs on an error by Besl that would have ended the frame.
After Egan fanned sophomore Kyle Stoughton to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third, Krauss broke the deadlock with a solo shot to left in the home half of the third. Ohio then busted the game open in the fourth with a six-run outburst to take a 9-2 lead. Sophomore catcher Trace Voshell (Batavia, Ohio) belted a three-run home run to start the scoring, tying his career high of three RBIs and marking his second-career home run, both of which have come in the last three games. Maddox later capped the rally with a two-RBI double. Krauss' second blast of the game made it 11-2 in the sixth, before Otterbein junior Brian Hiscox knocked his 16th home run of the year out of the park in the seventh and final frame to reach the 11-3 final score.
Otterbein plated a run in the first inning of game two, but Eldemire led off the bottom of the first with a bomb, his third leadoff homer in his last four games, to tie the game. Maddox then tripled to score Krauss later in the inning for an early 2-1 Bobcat edge. The 'Cats made it 5-2 in the second, with the final two tallies coming via junior right fielder Jeremie Rehak's (Pittsburgh, Pa.) first round-tripper of the year.
Maddox went yard in the third frame, while Eldemire and Johnston each blasted a pair of two-run dingers in the fourth stanza for a 10-1 Bobcat cushion. Ohio tacked on four more in the sixth, with the final two coming on Martin's first-career double, which completed the 'Cats' 14-1 win, their largest victory of the year.
The Bobcats return to the diamond this weekend when they continue MAC play with a three-game series at Bowling Green. Ohio opens the set with the Falcons Friday, May 1 at 3 p.m. ET, while first pitch Saturday and Sunday are slated for 1 p.m. ET, with all three games taking place at BGSU's Steller Field. All three games will be broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens streamed live on OhioBobcats.com with the "Voice of the Bobcats" Russ Eisenstein and Brian Boesch calling the action. Pre-game coverage starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch all three days. Live stats will also be available for the games on bgsufalcons.com.
Notes: Krauss is now seventh all-time at Ohio with 145 RBIs, fourth all-time with 157 runs scored and sixth all-time with 372 total bases ... Besl now ranks 10th in Bobcat history with 212 hits ... During Johnston's 12-game hitting streak, he has 10 multi-hit games, including six-straight ... Junior first baseman Jerod Yakubik (Byesville, Ohio) also has a 12-game hitting streak going, his career long ... Freshman Doug Holmes (Twinsburg, Ohio) scored his first run as a Bobcat in game two Wednesday ... Ohio had been hit by at least one pitch in its last 16 games, but wasn't plunked in game one ... The 'Cats were drilled four times in game two, however, upping their school record to 81 this year (the previous team record was 63 in 2001) ... Ohio has hit just 37 batters on the season ... Ohio's 13-run victory in game two was its largest since April 5, 2008 when the Bobcats beat Toledo 18-5.
