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SPARTANBURG, S.C.— The Ohio baseball team (1-0) opened the 2022 season with a comeback victory, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat USC Upstate (0-1) 9-6.
Individually, fifth year
Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) led the Bobcats, going 3-for-4 with one RBI, one walk and two runs scored. Junior
Alex Finney (Oxford, Mich.) went 2-for-3 with four RBI while redshirt freshman
AJ Rausch (Powell, Ohio) went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks. Upstate registered eight hits and two RBIs while striking out 11 times.
USC Upstate took an early lead, scoring two runs off an RBI triple in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second, Finney put the Bobcats on the board with an RBI double, driving in Peterson for Ohio's first run of the game. In the bottom of the third, a Bobcat error allowed two more Spartan runs to score, leaving Ohio trailing 4-1.
The Bobcats' bats heated up in the top of the fourth. Doubles from Rausch and Peterson drove in a run apiece, putting Ohio one run down before a sacrifice fly from Finney tied the game, 4-4. The Spartans took advantage of a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth, but their one-run lead was short-lived. Rausch tied the game, 5-5, in the top of the seventh with an RBI single before redshirt senior
Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.) scored on a wild pitch, giving Ohio a 6-5 lead.
Upstate scored their final run off an error in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game 6-6. Back-to-back errors in the top of the ninth gave the Bobcats a three-run lead, securing their 9-6 victory.
On the mound, fifth year Eddie Kutt IV (Westlake, Calif.) went 5.1 innings, registering four strikeouts and giving up one earned run. For the Spartans, Jacob Curry gave up seven hits and four earned runs in the first five innings of play.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to action tomorrow (Feb. 19) at Cleveland S. Harely Park for the second of three games against USC Upstate. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m.; fans can tune in on ESPN+.
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