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FINAL: Western Michigan 7 (10-13, 3-3 MAC), Ohio 4 (14-11, 2-4 MAC) -- Athens, Ohio. (Bob Wren Stadium)

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

WESTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: Grant Miller (3B), Nick Vogelmeier (SS), Kurt Hoekstra (2B), Brett Sunde (C), Hunter Prince (1B), Jared Kujawa (RF), Caleb Caton (DH), Tyler Frank (LF), Drew Farmer (CF), Keegan Akin (P)

THE BASICS
The Ohio baseball team (14-11, 2-4 MAC) could not overcome four errors in the first two innings, falling to Mid-American Conference West Division foe Western Michigan (10-13, 3-3 MAC), 7-4, on Sunday (March 29) in the weekend series rubber match at Bob Wren Stadium.

The Broncos also posted a victory in the series opener on Friday (March 27), 12-9. The Bobcats came back from five runs down to win the second game, 7-5, on Saturday (March 28).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) once again led Ohio's bats, going 3-for-4 and scoring one run.
- Senior first baseman Jake Madsen (Cincinnati,Ohio) was 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI.
- Junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) finished 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, two RBI and two runs scored.
- Freshman southpaw starting pitcher Mason McWilliams (Belevue, Ohio) gave up three runs -- only of which was earned -- on one hit and last a third of an inning. He suffered the pitching defeat for Ohio, falling to 1-3 on the season.
- Redshirt senior lefty Evan Geist (Roswell, Ga.), senior southpaw Spencer Sapp (Jasper, Ind.) and sophomore right-hander Christian Botter (Toronto, Canada) all tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Sapp walked one while Botter gave up one hit.
- Junior righty Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio) fanned five over four frames of work while giving up one earned run on two hits and a walk.
- Sophomore Grant Miller went 2-for-2 with an RBI, one walk and three runs scored to lead Western Michigan at the plate.
- Junior Brett Sunde was 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Broncos.
- Sophomore left-handed starting pitcher Keegan Akin pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits. He recorded three strikeouts and earned the mound triumph to improve to 2-1 on the year.
- Junior righty Gabe Berman picked up his fifth save of the season, fanning four in 3.1 frames while allowing one earned run on four hits.
- The Broncos jumped out of the gate to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Miller sent a leadoff single into right field, and sophomore Nick Vogelmeier followed by being hit by a pitch. Western Michigan loaded the bases with nobody out when junior Kurt Hoekstra reached on an error. Miller then scored on a balk by McWilliams. One out later, junior Hunter Prince reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Vogelmeier to score. That set the stage for a two-out, two run home run to right by senior Jared Kujawa to make it 4-0 in favor of Western Michigan.
- The Broncos tacked on two more runs in the second courtesy of three more Ohio miscues. Junior Drew Farmer reached on an error with one out, then Miller followed by reaching on another miscue by the Bobcats which allowed Farmer to score. Miller then scored on Ohio's third error of the inning, which allowed Vogelmeier to reach safely.
- Ohio got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 6-2 contest as senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) hit a leadoff single to left and advanced to second on a Western Michigan error, then scored when Adryan belted a two-run dinger to left.
- The Bobcats made it a three-run ballgame in the sixth when Longo sent a one-out base hit through the left side, then scored on a double to left by Madsen.
- Western Michigan upped its lead back to four runs in the seventh when Miller walked, advanced to second two outs later on a wild pitch and scored on a double to left by Sunde.
- Ohio tried to get a last-gasp rally going in the bottom of the ninth. Adryan sent a one-out single through the left side, and sophomore Ty Black (Wayneville, Ohio) followed with a single to short. Adryan scored one out later by way of a base hit to left center by junior Manny De Jesus (Caguas, P.R.), but Berman got senior Logan Cozart (New Philadelphia, Ohio) to ground out to end the contest.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Bobcats pounded out double-digit hits for the 15th time this season.
- Longo recorded his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season and fourth with at least three hits. He is on a four-game hitting streak. He hit a team-best .450 with a team-high nine hits -- including a home run -- to go along with five RBI and a team-high eight runs scored over five games this week. Longo finished the weekend hitting a team-best .615 with a team-high eight hits -- including a home run -- to go along with three RBI and a team-high five runs scored against Western Michigan. He is hitting a team-best .393 with a team-high 42 hits -- including four doubles and three home runs -- to go along with 23 RBI and a team-high 28 runs scored.
- Madsen posted his ninth multi-hit game of the year. He's on a six-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 10 straight games.
- Adryan tallied his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
- Redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has hit safely in 10 straight games after smacking a leadoff single in the second inning.

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
- "I was happy about the way we tried to battle back. We scrapped. Unfortunately, those first couple innings cost us. You know, they scored six runs on two hits. And in the second, they scored two runs on no hits, which, I think, by most definitions, is bad baseball. But, we battled back, and that's all we can ask for. We'll continue to fight, and we'll correct some of the things that need to be fixed."

UP NEXT
Ohio makes the drive to Columbus to battle in-state rival Ohio State on Tuesday (April 1). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.

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