Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. â€" The Ohio baseball team (1-0) racked up 10 runs in the ninth inning to defeat the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 16-9, in the season opener on Friday afternoon at Greenwood Baseball Field in Asheville, N.C.
 
How it Happened
UNC Asheville claimed an early advantage, leading Ohio 5-0 after two innings.
 
Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) recorded the first hit of the 2015 season for the Bobcats with a lead-off single in the third inning, but was stranded on third following a Bulldog double-play.
 
The Bobcat bullpen took the reigns in the third inning, with Ohio reliever Christian Botter (Toronto, Canada) stranding a Bulldog in scoring position. The righty threw four innings in which he struck out three, walked two and allowed just two hits.
 
Ohio’s bats thundered in the fourth as solo home runs by both sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) and redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) allowed to Bobcats to close in on the Bulldog’s lead, 5-2.
 
Two wild pitches by UNC Asheville sent Ohio sophomore Tyler Finkler (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) home in the fifth, giving the Bobcats their third unanswered run.
 
Ohio tacked on three additional runs to claim the lead in the eighth, beginning with an RBI single by Wells, followed by a Bulldog error that placed Wells and junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) in scoring position with just one out remaining. A two-RBI single of the bat of sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) turned the lead over to Ohio, 6-5 at the top of the eighth.
 
A Bulldog RBI single knotted the score, 6-6, in the bottom of the eighth.  
 
Ohio claimed the lead and solidified their victory in the ninth, with RBI by Longo, Gaertner, Wells, Ty Black, Finkler, De Jesus and Madsen sending runners across the plate, accounting for 10 runs overall.
 
The Bulldogs tacked three runs onto the board in the ninth, settling the final score at Ohio 16, UNC Asheville 9.
 
Sophomore Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio) had the starting nod for Ohio, tossing two innings in which the righty struck out four, allowed four hits and five runs, two of which were earned.
 
Bulldog starter Corey Randall struck out just one Bobcat over his six innings on the bump, allowing five Ohio hits and three earned runs.
 
By the Numbers
• The Bobcats recorded 14 hits, 14 RBI and two home runs over their 39 at-bats.
• The Ohio pitching staff struck out nine Bulldog batters.
• Wells lead the team with hits, recording three. Gaertner, Longo, Ty Black and Finkler followed, with two each.
• Longo and Ty Black posted three RBI apiece. De Jesus, Gaertner and Wells followed, each sending two runners home.
 
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