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BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— The Ohio baseball team (1-3) fell to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (5-0) Friday afternoon (Feb. 24) at Nick Denes Field, 14-1.
 
Both redshirt sophomore AJ Rausch (Powell, Ohio) and fifth year Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) went 1-for-3 with a double. Fifth year Colin Kasperbauer (Sioux City, Iowa) was 1-for-4, recording the only RBI of the day. 
 
On the mound, graduate student Brenden Roder (Sioux City, Iowa) started, facing 17 batters in two innings. Redshirt sophomore Luke Borer (Perrysburg, Ohio) threw for two innings, striking out one while allowing three earned runs on three hits. Freshman Jayden Jerger (Defiance, Ohio) and redshirt freshman Patrick DeMarco (Encino, Calif.) both made their Ohio debuts. Jerger pitched for three innings, allowing one run and four hits, while DeMarco closed for the Bobcats, striking out one of the three batters he faced. 
 
Western Kentucky took a 5-0 lead in the first, scoring off a three-run home run, a single and a throwing error. The next inning, two Hilltopper doubles drove in an additional three runs. WKU continued to build on their lead, driving in their ninth run in the bottom of the third and two more in both the fourth and fifth innings, leaving Ohio trailing 13-0.  
 
Rausch opened the top of the sixth with a double, quickly advancing to third on a wild pitch. After a pop out, Kasperbauer grounded out to first base, driving in Rausch for the Bobcats's only run of the game. Minzey followed with a double, but a fly-out to left field sent the game into the bottom of the inning. 
 
Jerger held the Hilltoppers to one hit in four batters in the bottom of the sixth, marking the first scoreless inning for Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers opened the seventh with a solo homer to right center field, extending their lead to 14-1. 
 
The Bobcats return to action on Saturday, Feb. 25 for a doubleheader against Western Kentucky. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. 
 
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