May 20, 2009

Box Score

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Junior Marc Krauss went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, but it wasn't enough as the third-seeded Ohio University baseball team fell to sixth-seeded Toledo, 14-4, Wednesday in its Mid-American Conference Tournament opener at V.A. Memorial Stadium. The Bobcats (28-23, 18-9 MAC) fall into the loser's bracket against an opponent to be determined, while the Rockets (22-29, 14-12 MAC) move into the winner's bracket.

Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) tallied half of Ohio's eight hits, while registering his sixth multi-homer game of the season and eighth of his career, and moved into second in MAC history for a single season with 26 home runs on the year, adding to his school record. The 2009 MAC Player of the Year also now has 44 round-trippers for his career, second in Ohio history and tied for 10th in MAC history. Krauss' other hits were a double and a single, as he came a triple short of the cycle, but the left fielder still set Ohio's single-season total bases record with 11 in the game, giving him 173 on the year, breaking Matt Stiffler's 172 from last year.

UT junior starter Justin Collop kept the rest of the Bobcats quiet, as he picked up the win to go to 4-7 on the year, tossing eight innings with four strikeouts, while conceding all of Ohio's runs and hits. Senior starter Chris Rigo (Westlake, Ohio) took the loss for the 'Cats, going five and two-thirds, while allowing nine earned runs with four ring-ups and fell to 5-5.

Toledo struck in the first, as junior Aaron Dudley cranked a two-out, two-run shot to right field, giving the Rockets an early 2-0 edge. Sophomore Jim Vahalik led off the second with his seventh blast of the season and the Rockets plated three more runs in the frame - two unearned - with two scoring on a throwing error by senior third baseman Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) for a 6-0 cushion.

In the third, Toledo looked to add to its advantage with a man on third and one out, but Besl atoned for his miscue by gunning down Dudley at home on a sharp grounder to keep the deficit at six. It was the second time the 'Cats threw a Rocket out at home in the game, as sophomore second baseman Zach Keen (Beavercreek, Ohio) kept a run off the board in the second stanza by throwing a Rocket out at home.

Krauss chipped into the six-run hole in the third with his first solo bomb of the day, but Toledo tacked on two more in the fourth, including another unearned run, and one in the fifth to grab a 9-1 lead. Three more tallies in the sixth, including Dudley's second two-run bomb of the game for a four-RBI day, gave the Rockets a commanding 12-1 edge.

Krauss clubbed his second solo shot of the day in the bottom of the sixth, a towering shot to opposite field that cleared the scoreboard, and sophomore Robert Maddox III (Euclid, Ohio) drilled his 13th four-bagger of 2009 in the seventh, but Ohio still trailed 12-3. Senior right fielder Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) trotted home on a Besl RBI ground out to close within eight, but the 'Cats would get no closer, falling 14-4.

The Rockets knocked out 18 hits, led by three apiece from sophomore Chris Dudics, sophomore Jared Hoying and Vahalik, who all had an RBI, as well, and freshman Joe Corfman, who was 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Ohio will now play at 9 a.m. ET Thursday in an elimination game against the loser of No. 2 Ball State and No. 7 Eastern Michigan, who play later Wednesday.

Notes: With his four punch-outs, Rigo moved into sixth on Ohio's career strikeouts list with 198, while his start gave him 63 career appearances, tying for fifth in Ohio history ... Krauss passed Toby Kominek (of Central Michigan) for second on the league's single-season ledger, as Kominek hit 25 dingers in 1995 ... In addition to breaking the single-season total bases record, Krauss moved into third all time with 407 career bases ... Ohio belted three home runs Wednesday, giving them 98 for the year, including 60 in their last 19 games ... The Bobcats are now 1-2 all-time against Toledo in the MAC Tournament and 14-19 overall in Tournament history ... Johnston's run put him tied for eighth on the single-season chart with 57, while Maddox moved into ninth for single-season RBIs, as he now has 55 runs driven in this year ... Krauss also moved into a tie for seventh on Ohio's single-season list with 82 hits this year.