March 20, 2015
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FINAL: Ohio 6 (12-6, 1-0 MAC), Central Michigan 4 (13-9, 0-1 MAC) - Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Theunissen Stadium)
OHIO STARTERS: Manny De Jesus (CF), Garrett Black (SS), Mitch Longo (RF), Jake Madsen (1B), Tyler Wells (LF), Cody Gaertner (C), Ty Black (3B), Tyler Finkler (2B), Mason McWilliams (DH), Connor Sitz (P)
CENTRAL MICHIGAN STARTERS: Nick Regnier (CF), Pat MacKenzie (2B), Tyler Huntey (C), Logan Regnier (RF), Zach McKinstry (SS), Alex Borglin (1B), Cody Leichman (DH), Joe Houlihan (3B), Ryan Heeke (LF), Nick Deeg (P)
THE BASICS
A three-run fifth inning helped power the Ohio baseball team (12-6, 1-0 MAC) to its first win in a Mid-American Conference opener since 2012 as the Bobcats recorded a 6-4 triumph at Central Michigan (13-9, 0-1 MAC) on Theunissen Stadium on Friday (March 20).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ohio pounded out six runs on 10 hits, marking the 12th time in 2015 the Bobcats have posted double-digit hits.
- Four Bobcats tallied two hits in the victory -- including senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio), redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.), sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) and junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.).
- Sophomore right-hander Christian Botter (Toronto, Canada) worked 1.1 innings of relief and earned the pitching victory to improve to 2-0 on the season. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio) threw four innings, striking out four while allowing two earned runs on four hits and five walks.
- Senior Logan Cozart (New Philadelphia, Ohio) earned his fifth save of the year, striking out three and giving up one hit and one walk in a scoreless ninth inning of work.
- Senior Nick Regnier and sophomore Alex Borglin led Central Michigan at the plate with two hits apiece.
- Sophomore left-handed starting pitcher Nick Deeg was saddled with the loss for Central Michigan. He fanned three in six innings of work while surrendering five runs -- three of them earned -- on seven hits and three walks.
- The Chippewas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Regnier legged out an infield single to second, moved to second on a walk by senior Pat MacKenzie, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Tyler Huntey and scored on an RBI ground out to first by freshman Zach McKinstry.
- Ohio evened the score in the top of the third as Adryan smacked a one-out, pinch-hit double to left center and scored one out later by way of a Central Michigan error.
- The Bobcats took command of the contest with a three-run fifth that made the score 4-1 in favor of the Green & White. Black got things rolling with a leadoff single to left, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Tyler Finkler (Olmsted Falls, Ohio). An infield single to second by Adryan put runners on the corners for Ohio before junior Manny De Jesus (Caguas, P.R.) drew a walk to fill the bases with Bobcats. Redshirt senior Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) took advantage of the situation with a two-run double to left center. De Jesus scored Ohio's fourth run on an RBI ground out to short by sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio).
- Central Michigan got a run back in the home half of the fifth, but Ohio made it a three-run affair again in the sixth when senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) reached on an error, moved to third on a single by Gaertner and scored on a base hit to right by Ty Black.
- The Chippewas once again responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Bobcats plated their final run in the ensuing frame when Longo hit a two-out double to right and scored on a single to right by Madsen.
- The Chippewas made it a two-run game with a run in the bottom of the eighth and loaded the bases in the ninth before Cozart forced redshirt freshman Colton Bradley to strike out looking and junior Joe Houlihan to line out to first to seal the win for the Bobcats.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio tallied its first win in a league opener since topping Toledo, 9-3, on March 23, 2012.
- The Bobcats earned their first win over the Chippewas since a 6-5 victory on April 2, 2011, at Bob Wren Stadim in Athens.
- Longo extended his hitting streak to a team season-high 12 straight games and has reached base in a team season-high 15 straight games.
UP NEXT
Ohio takes aim at its first MAC weekend series win of 2015 when it squares off with Central Michigan on Saturday (March 21). First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET. The Bobcats are scheduled to start freshman left-hander Mason McWilliams (Belevue, Ohio) against Central Michigan righty Pat Leatherman. McWilliams will be making his first collegiate start and is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 13 strikeouts over five appearances and 12.2 innings pitched in 2015 while Leatherman is 2-0 in four starts with a 2.55 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 24.2 innings of work.
The Bobcats' last series win over Central Michigan came in 2009 at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens. The Bobcats won the opener, 9-5, on March 20. After Central Michigan edged Ohio, 12-10, in the second game, the Bobcats took the rubber match with a 16-6 triumph on March 22. Ohio's last series win in Mount Pleasant came in 2008, with the Bobcats prevailing in the first two games of the weekend set -- a 13-2 win on March 22 and a 5-4 victory the following day.
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