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BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— The Ohio baseball team (1-5) fell to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-0) Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) at Nick Denes Field. In game one of the doubleheader, the Bobcats fell 9-6 in seven innings. Ohio maintained a lead the majority of game two, but ultimately lost 9-8.
Individually, fifth year
Will Sturek (Minnetonka, Minn.) led the Bobcats at the plate, finishing the day 4-for-8 with one double and an RBI while junior
Gideon Antle (Licking, Mo.) went 3-for-7 with one double, one RBI and two runs scored.
On the mound, sophomore
Zach Weber (Lebanon, Ohio) started in game one, throwing four innings and striking out three. Sophomore
Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.) started the second game, recording two strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
GAME ONE
After a scoreless first inning, the Hilltoppers struck in the second, scoring off a Bobcats fielding error. They extended their lead the next inning, driving in three additional runs with two RBI singles to take a 4-0 lead.
Ohio struck in the top of the fourth with one out. Fifth year
Colin Kasperbauer (Sioux City, Iowa) doubled down the right field line, scoring the next at-bat when fifth year
Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) crushed a home run to left center field. Western Kentucky tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the inning and one more in the fifth, leaving Ohio trailing 7-2.
The Bobcats closed the gap in the top of the sixth. A groundout from freshman
Billy Adams (Medina, Ohio) allowed junior
Cole Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) to score and advanced redshirt sophomore
Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to third. Dolan took advantage of a wild pitch, scoring Ohio's fourth run.
An Ohio throwing error followed by an RBI single drove in the Hilltoppers' final two runs in the sixth. Antle led off the top of the seventh with a single, advancing to second on a ground out and scoring when Minzey singled to right field. Sturek rounded out the Bobcats' scoring with an RBI double, putting the final score at 9-6.
GAME TWO
The Bobcats struck in the second inning, taking a 6-0 lead. Sturek got the ball rolling—his single combined with a Hilltopper error drove in the first run of the game. Sturek then scored on a Dolan single, with Dolan quickly crossing the plate when Adams singled to left field. After Antle drove in Adams with a double, a Western Kentucky throwing error on a Kasperbauer single drove in two additional runs. In the bottom of the frame, Western Kentucky put two runs on the board, cutting Ohio's lead to 6-2.
In the third, senior
Alex Finney (Oxford, Mich.) laid down a bunt in the third, allowing junior
Alec Patino (Sioux City, Iowa) to cross the plate before scoring himself on a groundout. Western Kentucky answered with a two-RBI double and after a scoreless fourth, drove in their fifth run with a double to left field, putting the score at 8-5.
The Hilltoppers' momentum continued in the seventh, scoring two runs off a groundout and a single. Back-to-back bases loaded walks in the eighth gave Western Kentucky their first lead of the day. Unable to score again, Ohio fell, 9-8.
Up next, the Bobcats conclude their weekend in Bowling Green, Ky. on Sunday, Feb. 26. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET.
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