ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio baseball team hosted its home opener Friday night at Bob Wren Stadium against the Dayton Flyers. The Bobcats would fall 7-4 after a back-and-forth game.
 
"It (playing the first home game) was great," Ohio coach Andrew See said. "...It's exciting to have your first opportunity as a head coach on this field, in this program."
 
Ohio finished the game with four runs on eight hits and one error, while Dayton tallied seven runs on eight hits with two errors.
 
At the plate, the Bobcats were led by junior outfielder Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Ky.), who tallied two hits, including a home run and two RBI. Ohio's other runs were driven in by hits from sophomore first baseman  Brady Alexander (Glenshaw, Pa) and redshirt sophomore outfielder Max Palinski (Gates Mills, Ohio).
 
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke Bryant (Ashland, Ohio) got the start on the mound for the Bobcats. Bryant recorded a season-high four and two-thirds innings pitched, allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout. Bryant started his day with four straight scoreless innings. Five other pitchers appeared for the Bobcats in the game.
 
Bryant got the Bobcats off to a good start in the first inning, setting the Flyers down one-two-three. Capitalizing on the good start in the top half of the first inning, the Bobcat offense opened the scoring in the bottom half when Boyd sent a homer over the left field wall to make it 1-0.
 
Boyd once again delivered in his next at-bat when a single through the left side scored senior outfielder Cam Hill (Chicago, Ill.), who reached on a walk with one out in the third inning.
 
As Bryant continued his success on the mound, the Bobcats led 2-0 through three innings.
 
In the fourth, the Ohio defense made a big play when it turned a double play after each of the first two batters reached to start the inning.
 
The Flyers got on the board in the fifth when a string of two-out hits resulted in four runs and a 4-2 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth.
 
Dayton added on to its lead again in the sixth when a fielder's choice resulted in a run to make the score 5-2.
 
Ohio cut into the Dayton lead in the seventh when a leadoff walk by junior catcher Tyler Stack (Oswego, Ill) started a no-out rally for the Bobcats. A double by Palinski scored Stack before a single from Alexander brought the Bobcats within one at 5-4.
 
In the eighth inning, the Flyers added back both the runs that they lost, bringing their lead to 7-4 going into the bottom of the eighth.
 
The Bobcats held the Flyers to no runs and no hits in the ninth, but were unable to add anything in the bottom half, falling 7-4.
 
The Bobcats will be back at Bob Wren tomorrow afternoon for the second game of this four-game series with Dayton. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be available to watch on YouTube.
 
#OUohyeah