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FLORENCE, Ala. – The Ohio baseball team (1-0) opened the 2020 season with a win after defeating North Alabama, 5-1, at Mike Lane Field on Friday evening.
As a pitching staff, Ohio struck out 17 UNA batters. Senior LHP Nick Byrnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) earned the win for OU after tossing 0.1 innings and striking out two batters without allowing a hit. Sophomore RHP Eamon Horwedel (Ann Arbor, Mich.) started for Ohio and fanned seven batters in 4.2 innings. Horwedel allowed just five batters to reach base and allowed one earned run.
Junior LHP Brett Manis (Port Huron, Mich.) – last season's Mid-American Conference saves leader – earned his first save of the season. Manis tossed 2.0 innings and struck out four batters. Manis did not allow a run to score and allowed just two batters to reach base. Junior RHP Edward Kutt IV (Westlake, Calif.) fanned four batters in 2.0 innings pitched.
Redshirt sophomore 1B Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) hit his first career home run for Ohio in the top of the eighth inning. Harbert ended the day 1-of-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Ohio had two RBIs on the day, with redshirt sophomore Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.) driving in the other run.
Senior 3B Trevor Hafner (Perrysburg, Ohio) went 2-of-4 with two singles. Junior OF Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.), redshirt junior C Dan McCauley (Pittsburgh, Pa.), redshirt freshman SS Xavier Haedinges (Salem, Ind.), junior INF Aaron Levy (Cincinnati, Ohio) all recorded singles.
Ohio took the lead in the top of the second inning on a two-out single from Peterson. Lukkes advanced to third on the single and then scored on an error by the second baseman.
Richardson extended Ohio's lead in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought home McCauley. A dropped pop up by the UNA first baseman with two outs brought home Haendiges to put Ohio up 3-0.
UNA got on the board in the fifth inning on a single that scored Ryan Singewald and cut the Ohio lead to 3-1. The Bobcats brought in Byrnes with two outs and two runners on and no further damage was done.
Harbert's home run over the left field fence put Ohio up 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning. Ohio then put runners on first and third, and junior RF Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) hit into a double play that scored Lukkes. Manis entered the game with two runners on and no outs in the bottom half of the frame and worked out of the jam. Manis earned the save in the ninth inning.
Ohio will take on North Alabama tomorrow in a doubleheader. First pitch in the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. ET. Both games will be shown live on ESPN+.
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