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FINAL: Wright State 8 (42-16), Ohio 3 (36-21) -- Champaign, Ill. (Illinois Field)

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

WRIGHT STATE STARTERS: Sean Murphy (C), Mark Fowler (CF), Michael Timm (2B), Mitch Roman (SS), Gabe Snyder (1B), Ryan Fucci (RF), Matt Morrow (LF), John Brodner (3B), Andrew McCafferty (DH), Jesse Scholtens (P)

THE BASICS
The No. 4 regionally-seeded Ohio baseball team (36-21) saw its season end on Sunday (May 31) in a 2015 NCAA Championship Champaign Regional elimination game in an 8-3 defeat to No. 3 regionally-seeded Wright State (42-16) at Illinois Field in Champaign, Ill.

After a four hour and 10 minute-delay on Saturday (May 30), the game resumed on Sunday in the top of the third inning with the Horizon League champion Raiders leading the Mid-American Conference champion Bobcats, 5-2.

Ohio finished the 2015 regular season with 36 victories -- the second-most in program history. The Bobcats captured the MAC tournament title and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997.

The Bobcats dropped a 10-3 decision to No. 6 nationally-seeded Illinois on Friday (May 29) while the Raiders suffered an 11-7 defeat to No. 2 regionally-seeded Notre Dame in the opening round of the regional.

With the victory over Ohio, Wright State advanced to play the loser of a 4 p.m. ET winner's bracket contest between the Fighting Illini and the Fighting Irish on Sunday. That elimination game will be played 55 minutes following the conclusion of the winner's bracket game. The regional final will be held on Monday (June 1) at 11 a.m. ET.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bobcats could not take advantage of three Wright State errors and left nine runners on base.
- The Raiders pounded out eight runs on 11 hits.
- Ohio sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio) lasted 1.2 innings, giving up five runs -- two of which were earned -- on two hits and two walks on Saturday. He suffered the pitching defeat to fall to 3-5 on the season.
- Rudnicki was replaced on the mound by junior right-handed pitcher Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio), who struck out Wright State senior infielder Michael Timm to end the top of the second inning. Sitz also returned to the mound on Sunday and threw two innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks. He struck out two.
- Senior right-handed reliever Logan Cozart (New Philadelphia, Ohio) entered the game in the fourth inning and lasted 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks for the Bobcats. The 2015 MAC Pitcher of the Year and 2015 MAC Championship Most Valuable Player struck out one.
- Senior southpaw reliever Spencer Sapp (Jasper, Ind.) closed out the game for Ohio, pitching 0.2 innings and giving up two hits.
- Senior first baseman Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio) went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Bobcats' bats. The 2015 First Team All-MAC selection finished his Ohio career with a program-record 286 career hits, which ranks ninth in MAC history. He finished the season with a MAC-high 50 RBI.
- Junior infielder John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) finished 2-for-4 for Ohio.
- Redshirt senior catcher Kyle Dean (Athens, Ohio) was 2-for-4 with his fourth double and 10th run scored of the season for the Bobcats.
- Redshirt senior infielder Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) went 1-for-5 with his seventh double, 27th RBI and 41st run scored of the year for Ohio.
- Sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) finished 1-for-5 with his 13th double, 49th RBI and 53rd run scored of the season for the Bobcats.
- Wright State redshirt senior outfielder fielder Mark Fowler led the way at the plate for Wright State. The 2015 Second Team All-Horizon League pick went 3-for-5 with his sixth home run and 17th double of the year and drove in three runs and scored another, increasing his season totals to 41 and a team-high 50, respectively.
- Junior outfielder Ryan Fucci finished 2-for-4 with his team-leading 15th homer, three RBI, a walk and a run scored. He upped his season RBI total to a team-high 49 and scored his 48th run of the year for the Raiders.
- Sophomore catcher Sean Murphy went 1-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and a run scored. The First Team All-Horizon League selection's season RBI total now stands at 34 while he crossed home plate for the 49th time for Wright State.
- Junior infielder John Brodner went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored for the Raiders, increasing his season run total to 23.
- Senior designated hitter Andrew McCafferty finished with two singles for Wright State.
- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Jesse Scholtens, who got the start on Saturday (May 30) for the Raiders, returned to the mound for the resumption of the game in the third inning on Sunday and pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out three and picked up the mound victory to improve to 7-4 on the season.
- Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Logan Blair pitched the ninth inning for the Raiders, giving up one earned run on one hit.
- After Rudnicki forced Wright State to strand a runner at third in the top half of the first, the Bobcats opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the frame. Garrett Black doubled to right center and was driven home in the next at-bat as sophomore outfielder Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) laced an RBI double to the gap in right center and advanced to third on an error by Fowler. Longo came home to score on a lined single to right field by Madsen.
- Wright State responded with five runs in the top of the second. Fucci hit a two-run shot over the wall in dead center field, scoring redshirt freshman first baseman Gabe Snyder, who reached on a leadoff walk. Freshman infielder Matt Morrow reached via a fielding error at first by Madsen and moved to second when Brodner was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by McCafferty moved both into scoring position. Sophomore catcher Sean Murphy then drove in Morrow on an RBI ground out to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead. Fowler then hit a two-out, two-run homer over the wall in left center to score Brodner and gave the Raiders a 5-2 lead.
- Wright State scored the first run after the game's resumption on Sunday, turning a two-out walk by Murphy into a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning via a double down the left field line by Fowler.
- The Raiders plated another run in the eighth as Brodner, who reached on a one-out single up the middle, moved to second on a base hit to center by McCafferty and came around to score on a single up the middle by Murphy.
- Wright State scored its final run in the top half of the ninth when Timm led off the inning being hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a base hit through the right side by Snyder and scored on a single down the right field line by Fucci.
- Ohio scored its final run of the 2015 season in the bottom of the ninth. Dean led off with a double, moved to second on a ground out to second by junior outfielder Manny De Jesus (Caguas, Puerto Rico) and scored on an RBI groundout to short by Garrett Black.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Bobcats made their 15th NCAA Championship appearance in program history. Ohio is now 17-28 (.378) all-time in national postseason play.
- After winning just 11 games in 2014, Ohio's 25-win improvement to 36 victories in 2015 marked the biggest turnaround in the NCAA.
- Cozart finished the 2015 season with a 7-1 record, a single-season program record 13 saves, a team-best 1.52 ERA and a team-high 80 strikeouts over a team-high 31 appearances. Cozart's 17 career saves rank as the second-most all-time in program history while his 94 career appearances on the mound rank as the most in program history.
- Ohio said farewell to its 2015 senior class of Garrett Black, senior infielder Tirey Burch (Santa Claus, Ind.), Cozart, right-handed pitcher Jeremy Cronk (North Plans, Ore.), Dean, first baseman Taylor Emody (Milan, Ohio), left-handed pitcher Evan Geist (Roswell, Ga.), infielder David Hamlett (Stockton, Calif.), Madsen, Sapp and outfielder Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.).

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
"I just want to say how proud I am of our team, of what they did this year. It was amazing, the comeback that we had. We had the nation's biggest turnaround and just seeing the improvement that a lot of individual players made was special to be a part of, and, unfortunately, it came to an end today, which we knew at some point it would. But, I'm very, very proud of what we did, and I'm just sad to see it end. I could coach these guys for another 56 games if they'd let me."

Senior Right-Hander Pitcher Logan Cozart:
"It's disappointing going two-and-out, but it's a good experience for the guys because it's like uncharted territory for Ohio University. We're no longer the hunted. We're the hunter."

Senior First Baseman Jake Madsen:
"I'm really disappointed because I want to win the game. But, at the same time, I think we did all we could do. At the end of the day, like coach said, you have to just tip your cap. They made all the plays they needed to make, and, unfortunately, they just came out on top today."

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