AKRON, Ohio – The Ohio baseball team (11-34, 6-18 MAC) split its doubleheader (4-9, 10-5) at Akron (16-31, 9-18 MAC) on Sunday, May 4.
 
Game 1: Akron 9, Ohio 4
Ohio finished with six hits and two errors. Akron finished with 17 hits and no errors.
 
Senior Jackson Cauthron (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and graduate student Trenton Neuer (Nicholasville, Ky.) led Ohio with two hits each. Neuer also finished with two RBI's.
 
Senior Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.) started on the mound for Ohio. In 6.0 innings pitched, Boncal recorded three strikeouts and allowed two runs.
 
The game remained scoreless through five innings of play with little offensive production by both teams. The Zips out-hit Ohio majority of the game and had a player in scoring position for six-straight innings before scoring its first run of the game. Akron finally capitalized on its hitting performance, taking a 2-0 lead over Ohio in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Ohio scored its first run of the game off an RBI ground out by sophomore Ben Slanker (Canfield, Ohio). Slanker's ground out was preceded by a single by sophomore Caleb Karll (Fitchburg, Wis.) and double by Neuer. Karll scored Ohio's lone run.
 
Akron went on to win the first game, 9-4.
 
Game 2: Ohio 10, Akron 5
Ohio finished with 12 hits and one error. Akron finished with 10 hits and no errors.
 
Slanker, graduate student Blake Reed (Gahanna, Ohio) and Karll all finished with two hits in game two of the doubleheader. Karll led the team in runs with three total while Reed scored two. Slanker once again led the team in RBI's with three total.
 
Freshman Hunter Winston (Hinckley, Ohio) started on the mound and earned the win for Ohio. Sophomore Jack Geiser (Medina, Ohio) replaced Winston on the mound. Geiser earned the save after pitching four innings and recording one strikeout.
 
Ohio took a 4-1 lead in the second inning. Sophomore Trae Cassidy (Northville, Mich.) got the scoring started with a leadoff home run. Two walks and a wild pitch led to a bases loaded situation for the Bobcats. Another walk brought in another run for Ohio. Reed scored Ohio's third run on a wild pitch. Ohio's fourth run scored off an RBI sacrifice fly by Slanker.
 
The Bobcats scored two more runs in the top of the fourth. Ohio placed two runners on base with a leadoff double by Reed and Karll's hit by pitch. A single bunt by redshirt sophomore Cam Bryant (Miamisburg, Ohio) put Ohio in a bases loaded situation. A two-run single by Slanker increased Ohio's lead to 6-3.
 
Junior Dylan Shepherd (Barrie, Ontario) came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth. Shepherd slightly increased Ohio's lead with an RBI double, allowing Karll to score. After six innings of play, Ohio led Akron 7-5.
 
Three back-to-back singles by the Bobcats in the top of eighth put them in another bases loaded situation. Cassidy's walk allowed another run to score for Ohio, putting the Bobcats up 8-5. A two-run single by redshirt freshman Drew Cox (Mason, Ohio) gave Ohio a five-run lead.
 
The Bobcats will be back in action at Ohio State on Tuesday, May 6. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET and the game will be available to watch on B1G+.
 
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