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WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Ohio baseball team (1-2) won in dominating fashion over Navy (0-3) Sunday morning (Feb. 19) at Brooks Field, 27-9.
Individually, the Bobcats were led by redshirt sophomore AJ Rausch (Powell, Ohio), who recorded one RBI and scored five times himself on two doubles and six walks. Junior Alec Patino (Sioux City, Iowa) led both teams in RBIs with seven, registering three hits and one run. Fifth years Colin Kasperbauer (Sioux City, Iowa) and Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) finished the game with three RBIs and three runs scored apiece while fifth year Will Sturek (Minnetonka, Minn.) had an impressive day, scoring twice on three hits with four RBIs. Junior Clay Cutter (Centennial, Colo.) was perfect from the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and scoring twice.
Junior Luke Olson (Granville, Ill.) started on the mound for Ohio, pitching five innings and allowing one run on four hits, with one walk and one strikeout. Junior Mitchel Hemmen (Teutopolis, Ill.) pitched the sixth inning, not allowing any runs, hits, or walks and with zero strikeouts. Sophomore Dillon Masters (New Albany, Ohio) subbed in the seventh, allowing four runs on four hits. Redshirt Sophomore Luke Borer (Perrysburg, Ohio) pitched the eighth, allowing four runs on five hits with one strikeout. Sophomore Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.) closed for the Bobcats, recording three strikeouts to solidify Ohio's victory.
The Bobcats started the game off strong, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with back-to-back singles from Patino and Sturek. After two scoreless innings for both teams, Ohio went to work in the fourth, extending their lead by five runs. Rausch kicked off the scoring with a bases-loaded walk, sending redshirt sophomore Harrison Johnson (Mason, Ohio) home. Next, Finney grounded into a double play, which allowed junior Cole Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) to score Ohio's fourth run. After Kasperbauer and Rausch drew back-to-back walks, Patino hit a double to left field, driving in three runs and putting the Bobcats up 7-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. Navy was able to tally one run, cutting into Ohio's lead.
The Bobcats continued to dominate in the fifth inning; back-to-back bases loaded walks put the score at 9-1 with two outs. After a pitching change, consecutive two-RBI singles from Patino and Sturek extended Ohio's lead to 13 runs. Sturek then capitalized on a Navy error and ran home, giving the Bobcats a 14-1 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Ohio tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Redshirt sophomore Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored on a fielder's choice while a sacrifice fly from Minzey allowed Rausch to cross home, making the score 16-1. Ohio's bats were hot in the seventh, driving in eight additional runs. Sturek opened with a solo home run. A two-RBI single quickly followed by a bases-loaded walk and two fielding errors put the score 23-1. Sixth year Trevor Lukkes (Tustin, Calif.) rounded out the scoring, driving in senior Trenton Neuer (Nicholasville, Ky.) with a single. Navy scored four runs in the seventh, cutting Ohio's lead to 24-5.
A Kasperbauer ground out and an RBI double from redshirt sophomore Blake Reed (Gahanna, Ohio) drove in two more runs for Ohio in the eighth. Navy was able to add on to their total as well, scoring four more runs, making the score 26-9 entering the ninth inning. Cutter drove in Lukkes for Ohio's final run of the game with a single to center field. Navy failed to score again, thus the Bobcats won 27-9
Up next, the Bobcats will travel to Bowling Green, Ky. from Feb. 24-26 for a four-game series against Western Kentucky. First pitch for Friday's game is set for 3 p.m.
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