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ATHENS, Ohio -- Redshirt junior right fielder Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) smashed three home runs and piled up 10 RBIs to power the Ohio baseball team (3-3) to a 14-3 rout of Milwaukee (0-4) on Friday (March 5) afternoon at Bob Wren Stadium.

Harbert hit a two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the first inning, a three-run homer to right in the fifth and a grand slam to center in the sixth.

"I was seeing the ball pretty well," said Harbert. "I'd say the biggest factor was just sticking to the approach that we go over in practice over and over and over again. I definitely had some help from the elements as well."

Harbert accounted for three of Ohio's four home runs on the day, as junior catcher Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) also went deep with a two-run blast to left center in the fourth. The Bobcats had not homered in their first five games of the 2021 season.

Two other Bobcats produced multi-hit performances. Graduate student third baseman Harry Witwer-Dukes (Monmouth, Ore.) finished 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored while senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) posted a 2-for-3 effort with a double, a walk and three runs scored. In total, Ohio collected 10 hits and drew 10 walks.

"The wind was blowing out a little bit, so that helped out on maybe a couple (of the home runs)," said interim head coach Craig Moore of his team's big offensive performance. "Spencer had a heck of a day at the plate. He's a big, physical, strong kid, and all he has to do is just kind of control his bat, his swing, and get the barrel on the ball, and the ball will jump. We had a couple discussions over the week, offensively, about how to have a better approach, a better plan at the plate, and it kind of showed tonight with him and Mason. Very excited to see those two guys in the middle of our lineup who are kind of our boppers, as I like to characterize them as, do what I hope they will continue to do down the road, and that's provide some extra-base hits."

Junior left-handed starting pitcher Joe Rock (Aliquippa, Pa.) provided the Bobcats with another stellar performance on the mound. The reigning Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week struck out 12 while permitting just five hits and a walk over six shutout innings. Rock picked up the pitching victory and improved to 2-1 on the year. He has now struck out 30 while allowing only three runs -- and just two earned -- on nine hits and six walks in 18 innings.

"Joe was Joe again tonight," said interim head coach Craig Moore. "Twelve punchouts in six innings, we'll definitely take that every Friday night from Joe. I think Joe is going to continue to provide those opportunities to win games on Friday. Another outstanding, dominant performance by him again tonight."

It took just six innings for Ohio to build up a 13-0 lead, thanks in large part to the three dingers by Harbert and the round tripper by Minzey. Witwer-Dukes helped the cause with an RBI single in the fifth and a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. The Panthers got two runs back on a two-run home run to right center by sophomore third baseman Nate DeYoung in the seventh, but Harbert added on a 10th RBI in the home half of the frame by serving up a sacrifice fly to provide the Bobcats with their 14th and final run. 

Junior right-handed pitcher Eamon Horwedel (Ann Arbor, Mich.) pitched the final three innings for Ohio, striking out two while allowing three earned runs on three hits and a walk. He picked up his first save of the season.

Junior southpaw starting pitcher Jack Mahoney was tagged with the loss on the mound for the Panthers. He gave up eight earned runs on six hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out five.

Ohio will go for the series win on Saturday (March 6) when it takes on Milwaukee in a doubleheader at The Wren. Both contests are slated to be seven-inning games. First pitch of game one of the twin bill is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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