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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio baseball team (3-7) won its series against Butler (4-6) Sunday afternoon after splitting a double header. Butler won the first game 8-7 and Ohio won the final game in extras, 10-9.
"We've lost, I think, four one-run games, counting the first game today. we needed to win a game like that. We needed to. We've lost a couple games, got walked off and things like that, so it was huge for team morale to get that win the way we did," head coach Craig Moore said.
Game One
Butler broke through in the first inning on a sacrifice fly, but Ohio took the lead in the bottom of the first on a home run by sophomore Pauly Mancino (Westlake, Ohio). The knock was Mancino's first of the season.
A big second inning by the Bulldogs put them in the driver's seat the rest of the game. A sacrifice fly followed by a home run, RBI walk, and a hit batter with the bases loaded started the Bulldogs' climb. A three-RBI double capped it off and put the Bobcats far behind.
Ohio collected two runs in the bottom of the third on a single by sophomore Trae Cassidy (Northville, Mich.) and a fielder's choice to Mancino.
The Bobcats attempted a final comeback bid with home runs by redshirt senior Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and sophomore Ben Slanker (Canfield, Ohio), however it was not enough.
Senior pitcher Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.) led the Bobcats with five innings on the mound, in which he collected three strikeouts. Boncal was charged with the loss in relief of graduate student starter Jacob Tate (Louisville, Tenn.).
Mancino and freshman Matt Ineich (South Lyon, Mich.) led Ohio with two hits each. Mancino's three RBIs led the team as well.
Game Two
Butler once again earned a lead in the top of the first. A double, a single and a sacrifice fly put Butler up by three runs, but Ohio put up two in the bottom of the inning that cut down the deficit.
The Bulldogs enhanced their lead with a pair of singles in the top of the second. After that, senior starter Dillon Masters (New Albany, Ohio) settled down. He went five innings in which he allowed five runs on 11 hits and struck out five batters.
"When the pitching went down for a second, they came right back with zeros at crucial times, and that gave the offense time to just work and put something together and put more runs," Dolan said.
Ohio ran away with the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Cassidy and a passed ball to score sophomore Caleb Karll (Fitchburg, Wis.). Yet, Butler was not ready to settle. It knocked in a run on a triple to centerfield to tie the game again in the top of the seventh.
The Bulldogs took the lead in the top of the eighth on a single, but the Bobcats still had a chance to bat.
Ohio added one run after redshirt sophomore Cam Bryant ran home on a wild pitch. In the next at-bat, Slanker walked in a run to tie the game. Dolan then sealed the walk-off with a single through the right side.
"That's all he had to do, was put the ball in play with the infield in like that," Moore said. "We were able to come back with a with a huge bounce back win after, after losing some opportunities in game one."
Redshirt junior Dylan Eggl (Albion, Ind.) earned the win after his two-thirds innings of work in the last part of the game. Eggl was part of the relief crew, which included senior Tyler Peck (Oak Creek, Wis.), who appeared in both game one and game two.
"Coach Brown was kind of hinting that if something happened towards the end there, I definitely have an opportunity to get in. So I was moving around in the bullpen, getting ready to pitch in case we got the lead. Then when we did, I was able to kind of just hop on the mound and start throwing right away," Peck said
Ohio was led at the plate by Cassidy, who had four hits (4-for-4). Slanker also led with four RBI and two walks (2-for-4).
Ohio will be back in action on Tuesday at Marshall. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. in Huntington and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
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