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FINAL: Western Michigan 12 (9-12, 2-2 MAC), Ohio 9 (13-10, 1-3 MAC) -- Athens, Ohio. (Bob Wren Stadium)

OHIO STARTERS: Manny De Jesus (CF), Ty Black (3B), Mitch Longo (RF), Jake Madsen (1B), Tyler Wells (LF), Cody Gaertner (C), John Adryan (DH), Garrett Black (SS), Tyler Finkler (2B), Connor Sitz (P)

WESTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: Grant Miller (3B), Nick Vogelmeier (2B), Kurt Hoekstra (SS), Brett Sunde (C), Hunter Prince (1B), Jared Kujawa (RF), Tanner Allison (LF), Chad Mayle (DH), Drew Farmer (CF), Derek Schneider (P)

THE BASICS
The Ohio baseball team (13-10, 1-3 MAC) took a 12-9 loss to West Division foe Western Michigan (9-12, 2-2 MAC) in a 2015 Mid-American Conference home opener that featured plenty of offense on Friday (March 27) at Bob Wren Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two squads combined for 19 runs over the first five innings -- including 12 in the first two innings.
- Redshirt senior Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) led the Bobcats with two hits in addition to driving in a run and scoring another.
- Sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) belted his third home run of the season -- a two-run shot in the second inning. He finished the contest with two runs scored.
- Junior Manny De Jesus (Caguas, P.R.) tallied a hit, drew two walks and scored a run.
- Redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) went 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
- Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) and sophomore Tyler Finkler (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) each drew two walks. Wells also scored a run. 
- Sophomore right-handed reliever Christian Botter (Toronto, Canada) was charged with the pitching defeat, falling to 2-1 on the season. He allowed three runs -- two of them earned -- on two hits and a walk in one inning of work.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio) struck out one but gave up six earned runs on seven hits and a walk over three frames.
- Freshman Logan Jacik (Omaha, Neb.) allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning of work out of the bullpen. 
- Sophomore Nick Vogelmeier helped Western Michigan pound out 15 hits, leading the way with a 4-for-4 performance that included a triple, three RBI, three runs scored and a walk.
- Junior Kurt Hoekstra went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs for the Broncos.
- Junior Drew Farmer also tallied three hits for Western Michigan in addition to driving in two runs and scoring three more.
- Senior Caleb Caton posted two hits and scored a run for the Broncos.
- Freshman southpaw Jacob Piechota tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief for Western Michigan and earned the pitching victory, improving to 1-0 on the year. He gave up one hit and one walk.
- Freshman righty Josh Bays threw 1.1 scorless innings out of the bullpen for the Broncos, striking out one while walking two.
- Junior right-handed closer Gabe Berman picked up his fourth save of the season for Western Michigan, tallying one strikeout to get the final out of the ballgame.
- Western Michigan junior left-handed starter Derek Schneider fanned three over 4.2 innings but surrendered nine runs -- four of them earned -- on six hits and five walks.
- Western Michigan grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Sophomore Grant Miller was hit by a pitch to lead off the contest, moved to second by way of a single through the left side by Vogelmeier and scored on a base hit through the right side by Hoekstra. Vogelmeier scored from third when junior Brett Sunde grounded into a double play.
- Ohio answered the challenge with a five-run home half of the first. De Jesus led off by drawing a walk, then moved to second when Longo reached on a dropped fly ball and scored on a single to center by senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio). Wells followed by drawing a walk to load the bases with Bobcats, and Gaertner capitalized on a single to left that plated Longo. That set the table for a two-run double by junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) that scored Madsen and Wells. Gaertner tagged up from third and scored Ohio's fifth run on a sacrifice fly to right by Black.
- The Broncos tied the contest at five-all in the top of the second. Freshman Tanner Allison hit a one-out single to right center, moved to second on a passed ball and scored one out later on a base hit to right by Farmer. Miller followed with a single to right center, and Vogelmeier drew a walk to load the bases for Western Michigan. The Broncos scored two more runs on a single to right by Hoekstra that was aided by an error.
- The Bobcats grabbed a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the second when De Jesus walked and Longo homered to right one out later.
- Western Michigan countered with five runs over the fourth and fifth frames to take a 10-7 advantage. The Broncos got three runs in the fourth. Caton hit a leadoff single to left, and Farmer followed by coaxing a walk. Both moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Miller, then scored on a triple to center by Vogelmeier. Vogelmeier then scored on an RBI ground out to second by Hoekstra that gave Western Michigan a one-run lead at 8-7. The Broncos' advantage swelled to three runs with a two-run fifth. Junior Hunter Prince smacked a leadoff double to right, then moved to third on a muffed throw that allowed senior Jared Kujawa to reach safely. Prince scored on a fielder's choice that put Allison on. Allison moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a base hit to second by Farmer.
- The Bobcats made it a one-run game again with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Gaertner drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a single by Black and then scored on a fielding error that put Finkler on. Black managed to score Ohio's ninth run when Finkler got caught in an inning-ending rundown.
- Unfortunately for Ohio, the Broncos tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth to put the contest out of reach. Farmer singled up the middle, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miller. A single up the middle by Vogelmeier plated Farmer. Vogelmeier moved to third on a double to right by Hoekstra, then scored the final run of the game on a suicide squeeze bunt by Sunde. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio and Western Michigan combined for seven errors.
- Black recorded his fifth multi-hit game of the year.
- Longo drove in multiple runs for the fifth time this season while Adryan did so for the third time.

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
- "To give up that many runs and that many hits; we didn't execute well and we didn't pitch it extremely well. We threw strikes. We only walked a couple of guys, but for them to roll out 15 hits, I know not all of them are hard hit, and you can certainly debate that, but the score shouldn't have been what it was. It was a poorly played game on both sides, really. They just happened to do a little bit more than we did to win the game."

UP NEXT
Ohio looks to even the three-game league set against Western Michigan on Saturday (March 28). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET. The contest was originally scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. ET.

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