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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio baseball team (5-13, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) earned its first MAC win of the season after a seven-run inning in the bottom of the seventh Saturday afternoon (March 15). Ohio defeated Central Michigan 15-2 for the victory.

"The guys never gave up. They battled back after being down early big and it could have been very easy for them to just pack it in being game three of a series that we did not have much success in the first two games," head coach Craig Moore said. 

Junior Dylan Eggl (Albion, Ind.) earned his second win of the season for his two and ? innings outing. Eggl allowed no runs on two hits and struck out one batter after he found success on his two-seam fastball. Redshirt sophomore Kolby Pascarelli (Durham, Conn.) earned his first save of the season in the win, too. 

Ohio's bullpen kept Central Michigan's (5-15, 2-0 MAC0 threats at-bay in the later half of the game. After junior Landon Price (Middle Point, Ohio) notched a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, Central Michigan did not score more than a run in an inning.

"(Landon) came in and did what we expect out of him, and that's to hold the offense and give us a chance to get our offense back into the game. I felt that Dylan Eggl did an outstanding standing job in that same position. They're holding the line, holding the game there, and so it goes, but those three zeros in the last three innings, those were the difference for us."

The Bobcat bats were ablaze Saturday afternoon as they scored in all but three innings. Everyone in the original lineup knocked a hit, and five Bobcats had multiple. Freshman Matt Ineich (South Lyon, Michigan) led with three hits in five at-bats. Ineich remains one of the top three hitters in the MAC. 

Senior Jackson Cauthron (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) blasted solo home runs for both of his hits against the Chippewas. The first started the Bobcats' slow climb out of a eight-run  deficit in the bottom of the third. The second was the first run to score in the seventh-inning barrage. 

"We need to keep the momentum going," Cauthron said. "We've lost a lot of games when we've had the lead in the seventh when we've had leads or been tied. It's finishing games when we know we can."

Redshirt senior Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and sophomore JR Nelson (Vernon Hills, Ill.) each claimed three RBIs on their two hits for a team-high. 

Saturday marked the second time this season Ohio recorded 17 hits in a game and the 10th time it had 10 or more hits in a game.

Ohio will remain home for its next game, a mid-week against Dayton on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+. 

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