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FINAL: Ohio 7 (27-16, 12-8 MAC), Toledo 4 (19-28, 11-9 MAC) - Athens, Ohio (Bob Wren Stadium)

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

TOLEDO STARTERS: A.J. Montoya (RF), Matt Hansen (2B), Deion Tansel (SS), John Martillotta (CF), Dalton Bollinger (1B), Corey Tipton (DH), Jacob Britt (LF), Nate Langhals (3B), Lucas Sokol (C), Steven Calhoun (P)

THE BASICS
The Ohio baseball team (27-16, 12-8 MAC) scored runs six innings to take down Mid-American Conference West Division foe Toledo (19-28, 11-9 MAC), 7-4, on Saturday (May 2) at Bob Wren Stadium.

The Bobcats evened the weekend series with the Rockets. Toledo came away with an 11-2 win in the series opener on Friday (May 1).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) and redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the way at the plate for Ohio, Gaertner finishing 2-for-3 with a double, his second home run of the 2015 season, a walk, two RBI and a run scored and Longo going 2-for-4 with a double.
- Redshirt senior Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) and junior Manny De Jesus also posted two hits for the Bobcats, with Black driving in a run and scoring another.
- Redshirt senior Kyle Dean (Athens, Ohio) tallied his first home run of the year and drove in a game-high three runs.
- Senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio) cracked his team-high 14th double of the season to bring his program-record career hits total to 271.
- Sophomore right-handed relief pitcher Tom Colletti (Wheaton, Ill.) threw two scoreless innings and picked up the mound victory to improve to 3-1 on the year. He scattered three hits and walked one while posting two strikeouts.
- Senior right-handed closer Logan Cozart (New Philadelphia, Ohio) matched the school record set by Chad Reed in 1992 by earning his ninth save of the season. He fanned three in 3.2 innings of work while walking three and allowing one hit.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio) allowed four earned runs on four hits and two walks while fanning one over 3.1 frames.
- Freshman A.J. Montoya led Toledo at the plate with two doubles. He also drew a walk and scored a run.
- Freshman Dalton Bollinger finished 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Rockets.
- Junior Deion Tansel went 1-for-1 with a pair of RBI for Toledo. He also drew a walk and was struck by two pitches.
- Sophomore southpaw starting pitcher Steven Calhoun was tagged with the mound defeat for the Rockets, falling to 4-5 on the year. He gave up five earned runs on eight hits and a walk while posting three strikeouts.
- The Rockets leapt out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Montoya led off with a double to center. Freshman Matt Hansen followed by legging out a bunt single down the third base line. A sacrifice bunt by Tansel allowed Montoya to score the game's first run. Hansen made it 2-0 one out later when he scored on a base hit back up the middle by Bollinger.
- Ohio cut Toledo's lead to 2-1 in the home half of the first as Garrett Black hit a one-out single to shallow center, advanced to third on a double off of the right field wall by Longo and then scored on an RBI ground out to short by Madsen.
- The Bobcats took a one-run lead in the bottom of the second courtesy of one big swing of the bat by Dean. Ty Black was hit by a pitch with two outs, setting the table for Dean's two-run home run over the left field wall -- his fifth career dinger.
- Ohio extended its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third by way of a two-out solo blast over the right field wall by Gaertner.
- Toledo knotted the contest back up at four-all in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Corey Tipton lined a leadoff single back to the mound to get things going for the Rockets. Senior Nate Langhals drew a walk one out later, ending Sitz's outing. After Sitz was replaced on the hill by Colletti, junior Lucas Sokol loaded the bases with a single to center. One out later, Hansen drew a walk to bump home Tipton. The Rockets tied the game up when Tansel was hit by a pitch to bring home Langhals.
- The Bobcats made sure the tie was short lived, regaining command in the home half of the fourth. Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) led off with a single to right, then advanced to third on a base hit through the right side by sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) and scored on an RBI sacrifice bunt by Dean, giving Ohio a 5-4 edge.
- Ohio tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Ty Black drew a one out walk, advanced to second on a single through the left side by De Jesus, and then scored on an RBI base hit through the left side by Garrett Black.
- The Bobcats extended their lead to 7-4 in the home half of the seventh when Madsen led off with a double to center and scored on a double to left center by Gaertner.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio has won 13 of its last 16 games -- including 10 of its last 14 conference games.
- The Bobcats pounded out at least 10 hits for the 21st time in 2015.
- Eight of Ohio's nine batters posted a hit.
- Longo tallied his team-leading 18th multi-hit game of the season. He has reached base safely in six straight games.
- Gaertner recorded his 15th multi-hit effort of the year. He also totaled his team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the season.
- De Jesus posted his 14th multi-hit game of the season. He has hit safely in a team-high 12 straight games.
- Garrett Black has compiled 10 multi-hit efforts this year. He has reached base safely in five straight games.
- Cozart has piled up a team-high 62 strikeouts over 23 appearances and 47.0 innings pitched this season.

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
"You can bend, just don't break. We bent in certain innings tonight, but we didn't break. And, we didn't give up the big inning. It kept us in the ballgame. Anytime you hit a couple home runs out, that shows vulnerability and gives confidence to the rest of the offense."

"At the beginning of the year, we had him (Cozart) slotted in that true closer's role. If the game's in the balance, I don't care what inning it is, he's going to come in the game, and he's going to pitch as long as he can. His role has changed a little bit. He's still our closer, but he's really our stopper. That stop can come at any point in the game, whether its the sixth inning or the seventh or the ninth."

UP NEXT
Ohio sets its sights on its fourth MAC series win in seven tries when it battles Toledo in the weekend rubber match on Sunday (May 3) at Bob Wren Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Sophomore righty Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio) is slated to start on the mound for the Bobcats. The Rockets are scheduled to send junior right-hander Caleb Schillace out to toe the rubber to start the game.

Ohio will be celebrating its 2015 Senior Day on Sunday and will honor the careers of its 11-member senior class in a pregame ceremony -- Garrett Black, Tirey Burch (Santa Claus, Ind.), Cozart, Jeremy Cronk (North Plans, Ore.), Dean, Taylor Emody (Milan, Ohio), Evan Geist (Roswell, Ga.), David Hamlett (Stockton, Calif.), Madsen, Spencer Sapp (Jasper, Ind.) and Wells.

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