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FINAL: Ohio 7 (21-14, 7-6 MAC), Kent State 5 (20-14, 8-5) - Kent, Ohio (Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium)

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

KENT STATE STARTERS: Dylan Rosa (RF), Sawyer Polen (SS), Zarley Zalewski (DH), Tommy Monnot (1B), Conner Simonetti (LF), Jeff Revesz (C), Zach Beckner (2B), Tim Dalporto (3B), Luca Fuscardo (CF)

THE BASICS
The Ohio baseball team (21-14, 7-6 MAC) put together an improbable five-run, ninth-inning rally to take down defending Mid-American Conference champion Kent State (20-14, 8-5 MAC), 7-5, in the weekend series opener on Friday (April 17) at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.

The Bobcats are now a game behind the Golden Flashes for first place in the MAC East Division.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ohio found itself trailing Kent State, 5-2, heading into the ninth inning. Junior Manny De Jesus (Caguas, P.R.) got the comeback rolling by drawing a leadoff walk. Sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) followed with a double down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position for the Bobcats. Senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio) loaded the bases by drawing a walk. Redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) coaxed a walk to bump home De Jesus and make it a two-run contest. After Kent State replaced freshman right-handed reliever Zach Willeman with redshirt senior righty Josh Pierce, Longo scored on a fielding error by Kent State freshman third baseman Tim DalPorto that allowed senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) to reach safely. Junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) drew a walk to push Madsen across the plate and tie the game at five-all. Gaertner gave Ohio a 6-5 lead when he scampered home on a wild pitch. After redshirt sophomore Nate Squires (Plain City, Ohio) drew a walk to load the bases, the Golden Flashes went to their bullpen once again, calling upon freshman southpaw Eli Kraus. Wells then raced home on another wild pitch to score Ohio's seventh run and give the Bobcats a two-run lead.
- Kent State loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth when senior Sawyer Polen reached on a fielder's choice, junior Zarley Zalewski drew a walk and senior Tommy Monnot was hit by a pitch. Sophomore right-handed reliever Corey Wells (Lexington, Ky.) buckled down to seal the win for the Bobcats, though, striking out sophomore Conner Simonetti to end the game.
- Longo led Ohio at the plate with a 3-for-5 effort that included a double and a run scored.
- Redshirt senior Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) finished with two singles.
- Gaertner went 1-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
- Wells picked up the pitching victory for the Bobcats, improving to 2-0 on the season. He struck out three over 1.2 frames and gave up a hit and a walk.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio) threw 5.1 innings, fanning three while allowing three earned runs on six hits and three walks.
- Sophomore right-handed pitcher Tom Colletti (Wheaton, Ill.) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings striking out one and allowing one hit.
- Monnot led Kent State with a 3-for-4 effort with a double and two runs scored.
- Zalewski finished with two hits, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
- Freshman Luca Fascardo tallied a single and a double for Kent State.
- Senior Jeff Revesz singled, walked and drove in three runs.
- Willeman suffered the pitching loss for Kent State, falling to 0-1 on the year. He gave up four runs -- two of which were earned -- on a hit and four walks. He struck out one.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Nick Jensen-Clagg fanned five and allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks for the Golden Flashes.
- Ohio took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning courtesy of some small ball. DeJesus legged out an infield single to second, Garrett Black legged out a bunt single and Longo sent a liner back at Jensen-Clagg to load the bases for the Bobcats. Gaertner bumped home DeJesus when he was hit by a pitch to give Ohio the early advantage.
- Kent State jumped in front in the bottom of the third. Freshman Dylan Rosa got the three-run inning started with a leadoff double to right. Zalewski tied the contest at one-all one out later with a base hit to center that scored Rosa. Monnot followed with a double to left center to put two Golden Flashes in scoring position. Simonetti plated Zalewski with a single to right, then Revesz pushed across Monnot with an RBI ground out to second to give Kent State a two-run lead.
- The Bobcats loaded the bases in the top of the seventh after one-out walks by Squires and DeJesus and a two-out infield single to short by Longo, but Ohio could not turn the opportunity into runs.
- Ohio filled the bases for a third time in the eighth and capitalized on the chance. Gaertner sent a leadoff single to center. A throwing error on a force attempt at second allowed Gaertner to advance 90 feet while Tyler Wells reached on a fielder's choice. Both moved up a base on a wild pitch, and Adryan loaded up the bases by coaxing a walk. Sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) cashed in by lifting a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Gaertner to tag up and score and cut Kent State's lead to 3-2.
- The Golden Flashes made it a three-run affair with a two-run bottom of the eighth. Monnot shot a single into center and Simonetti drew a walk to set the stage for a two-run double to left center by Revesz to make it a 5-2 game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Bobcats drew nine walks -- one shy of matching their season high.
- Ohio scored five runs on a hit, five walks, an error and two wild pitches in the ninth inning.
- Longo tallied his team-leading 15th multi-hit game of the year -- including his team-leading sixth with at least three hits.
- Garrett Black recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Madsen extended his hitting streak to eight straight games. He needs nine more hits to surpass the 269 by Ben Crabtree (2002-05) and become Ohio's all-time hits king.

UP NEXT
Ohio goes for its first series win over Kent State since 1998 on Saturday (April 18) at 4 p.m. ET. Junior right-hander Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio) is scheduled to start on the hill for the Bobcats and oppose Kent State sophomore southpaw Eric Lauer.

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