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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio baseball team (8-13, 4-5 Mid-American Conference) fell 7-2 to Central Michigan (6-18, 2-6 MAC) Sunday afternoon (March 24) at Bob Wren Stadium. 

"Sunday's are typically the day that's going to decide a lot of a lot of things on the weekend in terms of who wins the series, it could be avoiding a sweep or that could be going for a sweep. I talked to the team (about how) we've got to get tough. We've got to get more competitive on the mound and we've got to get more competitive at the plate in these types of situations," head coach Craig Moore said. 

The Chippewas built up a lead in the bottom of the first inning on a pair of RBI singles. They added to their total their next time at-bat on a three-RBI double down the left field line. 

By the top of the sixth inning, Central Michigan had a seven-run lead over Ohio and was on its way to a shutout. However, Ohio tallied a run after sophomore Billy Adams (Medina, Ohio) scored on a wild pitch. 

The Bobcats tried to muster up a rally in the top of the seventh, but all they could shake was a run from a sacrifice fly by redshirt junior Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

Junior Zach Weber (Lebanon, Ohio) tossed the majority of the game for Ohio after he relieved junior Blake Gaskey (Davenport, Iowa) in the bottom of the third. He struck out six batters and allowed just one run over five innings of work. 

"He gave us five innings, quality innings," Moore said. "He gave us an opportunity to stay in the game with the offense and gave us a chance to come back, so it was good to see that out of Zach today."

Ohio stayed patient at the plate, as it collected eight walks on the day. Freshman Pauly Mancino (Westlake, Ohio) and graduate student Bryce Smith recorded two walks each. Freshman JR Nelson (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led Ohio in hits with two. 

The Bobcats will be back in action on Tuesday (March 26) at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio is set to take on Dayton with first pitch at 4 p.m.

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