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FINAL: Ohio 4 (33-19), Western Michigan 1 (22-28) - 11 Innings - Avon, Ohio (All Pro Freight 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), Kyle Dean (DH), Jake Rudnicki (P)

WESTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: Grant Miller (3B), Mitchell Ho (DH), Kurt Hoekstra (SS), Brett Sunde (C), Jared Kujawa (RF), Tanner Allison (CF), Hunter Prince (1B), Nick Vogelmeier (2B), Beau Filkins (LF), Keegan Akin (P)

THE BASICS
On the back of six scoreless innings of relief from senior right-handed Pitcher of the Year Logan Cozart (New Philadelphia, Ohio) and three 11th-inning home runs, the No. 3-seeded Ohio baseball team (34-19) won its winner's bracket game of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship, 4-1, over No. 7-seeded Western Michigan (22-28) on Thursday (May 21) at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

Ohio's victory marks the first time the Bobcats have won two games in the MAC Championship since 2008 and the first time they've won the first two games of the tournament since 1997. The Bobcats went on to win the league's tournament crown and advance to the NCAA Championship. Ohio took down No. 6-seeded Bowling Green, 6-2, on Wednesday (May 20) behind a complete game from junior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio).

With the win, the Bobcats have won at least 34 games in a season for the first time since winning 35 in 2003.

The Bobcats will play the winner of the Friday (May 22) 1 p.m. ET elimination game between Western Michigan and Bowling Green on Saturday (May 23) in the bracket final at 9:30 a.m. ET.



HOW IT HAPPENED
- Cozart pitched six innings without permitting a run, allowing two hits, three walks while tallying two strikeouts to improve to 7-1 on the season.
- Sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio) lasted five innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks. He fanned three.
- Sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two walks and a run scored.
- Senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio) was 2-for-5 with a home run.
- Western Michigan sophomore southpaw starting pitcher Keegan Akin pitched 6.2 innings, permitting one earned run on five hits and two walks. He posted six strikeouts.
- Sophomore left-handed reliever Jacob Piechota took the pitching loss for the Broncos, tossing 3.1 innings with one earned run allowed on two hits and one walk.
- Freshman right-handed reliever Peyton Gray gave up two earned runs on two hits in one inning of work for Western Michigan.
- Western Michigan landed the first punch with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Grant Miller led off by getting hit by a pitch and then moved to second on a walk to junior Mitchell Ho. After a fielder's choice off the bat of junior Kurt Hoekstra moved Miller to third, he scampered home on a wild pitch by Rudnicki to give Western Michigan a 1-0 lead.
- Ohio countered in the top of the second to tie the contest at one-all. Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on an infield single by junior John Adryan (Delran, N.J.). Ty Black plated Wells on a bloop single to right center and advanced to second on the throw.
- The Bobcats were saved by two spectacular defensive plays during the ensuing eight scoreless innings. In the seventh inning, Western Michigan sophomore Nick Vogelmeier drew a one-out walk, but Wells then threw junior Drew Farmer out at second for the second out of the frame. In the 10th inning, Frank drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miller, putting the winning run in scoring position for the Broncos. Ho then sent a screaming liner to left but sophomore Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) robbed Western Michigan of the win my leaping up to make a game-saving catch.
- Madsen broke the tie in the top of the 11th with a solo blast to right center to give Ohio a 2-1 lead. Redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) followed that with a blast over the right field wall in the very next at-bat. Two outs later, Ty Black added the third home run of the inning, boosting the lead to 4-1.
- Cozart sat down the side in the home half of the 11th to send Ohio to the bracket final.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio has won 19 of its last 27 games -- including 15 of its last 20.
- Third-year head coach Rob Smith picked up his second MAC Championship victory.
- Cozart's six-inning outing was his longest of the season. He has a streak of 20 straight scoreless innings pitched going, fanning 17 while allowing just four hits and nine walks. He's 2-0 with four saves during the stretch.
- Madsen, a 2015 First Team All-MAC pick, upped his program all-time hits record total to 281. He posted his 18th multi-hit game and smacked his third home run of the season.
- Ty Black posted his second home run of the season and tallied his 13th multi-hit game of the year.
- Garrett Black has hit safely in a team-high 12 straight games and has reached base safely in a team-high 15 straight games. 

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
"It was unbelievable. After the first (home run), the (dugout) erupted and then it just kept getting bigger and bigger as each ball was hit out of the park. It was a real special time. It was neat to see our guys enjoy that. I can't say enough about the three guys who hit those homers, and, obviously, the job that Logan Cozart and Jake Rudnicki did in the front end of that game."

Senior Logan Cozart:
"I wasn't coming out unless there was a walk-off hit or a walk-off home run. I mean, it's win at all costs right now. It's tournament time. It's go time."

Senior First Baseman Jake Madsen:
"I honestly don't really remember what happened. I was just trying to get on base. At that point of the game, you're just trying to get one run. He started me off with a breaking ball, and he's predominantly a fastball pitcher, so I figured if he tries to throw a fastball, why not try and take a swing at it."

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