OXFORD, Ohio—The Ohio baseball team (20-18, 12-11 MAC) split the doubleheader against Miami (18-25, 13-17 MAC), dropping the first game, 5-1, and winning the second, 10-9.
GAME ONE
Miami struck first, scoring off a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The next inning, the Bobcats evened the score with a home run from redshirt senior
Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.), but a passed ball in the bottom of the inning left Ohio trailing, 2-1.
The RedHawks extended their lead in the third, driving in two runs with an RBI double in the third and their fifth run with a single in the sixth.
Individually, fifth year
Colin Kasperbauer (Sioux City, Iowa) led the team, going 2-for-2 with a double and redshirt junior
Xavier Haendiges (Salem, Ind.) went 2-for-3. On the mound, senior
Braxton Kelly (Ulysses, Ky.) went 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts.
GAME TWO
After two scoreless innings, senior
Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) launched the Bobcats ahead with a three-run home run to left field. The next inning, Minzey drove in redshirt freshman AJ Rasuch (Powell, Ohio) and Haendiges, giving Ohio a 5-0 lead.
Fifth year
Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) kept the momentum going in the fifth inning with a single to left field, allowing Richardson to score the Bobcats' sixth run. Miami struck in the bottom of the inning, scoring their first run off a groundout.
The RedHawks evened the score in the seventh, scoring five runs with an RBI single, a fielder's choice and a two-run home run.
A Peterson line out allowed redshirt freshman
Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to score in the eighth, giving Ohio a 7
-6 lead. Graduate student
Cael Baker (Gahanna, Ohio) crushed a two-run home run down the left field line in the top ninth, but the RedHawks answered with a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, once again tying the game, 9-9.
Rausch led off the 10
th inning with a triple, scoring the winning run off a fly out.
Individually, junior
Alex Finney (Oxford, Mich.) led the way, going 3-for-4 with one run scored while Dolan went 2-for-3 with a double. On the mound, freshman
Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.) pitched six innings, registering 11 strikeouts while giving up one run. Fifth year
Brett Manis (Port Huron, Mich.) closed the game, striking out three of the six batters he faced.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to action tomorrow (May 1), wrapping up their series against Miami at 1 p.m.
#OUohyeah