ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio baseball team (8-34, 5-18 MAC) took on the Akron Zips (19-24, 9-14 MAC) for the second game of its Alumni Weekend series on Saturday evening (April 25). In a close battle that came down to the ninth, the Zips took the win 9-6.
Ohio tallied six runs on six hits with no errors, while Akron recorded nine runs on 17 hits with two errors.
Junior outfielder
Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Ky) led the Bobcats at the plate with a two-run homer. Sophomore outfielder
Brady Alexander (Glenshaw, Pa) walked three times and scored two runs for Ohio. Fifth-year infielder
Will Henson (Chicago, Ill), junior catcher
Tyler Stack (Oswego, Ill), and senior outfielder
Cam Hill (Chicago, Ill) each tallied an RBI in the contest.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher
Hunter Winston (Hinckley, Ohio) got the start for Ohio, going three and two-thirds innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts. Junior right-handed pitcher
Ethan Stewart (Langsville, Ohio) was effective out of the bullpen, pitching two scoreless innings while striking out two.
The Bobcats took the lead early after Winston struck out the side in the first and put the offense in position to score. Alexander started the home half of the first with a walk before stealing second to put himself in scoring position for a one-out sac-fly RBI by Henson to make it 1-0.
Akron claimed its first lead of the game in the third, scoring two after loading the bases in the inning.
Just like the first inning, Alexander reached base to start the third inning after working a walk. This time, the Bobcats would bring across two runs and retake the lead after Boyd sent a homer over the right field fence to make it a 3-2 ballgame. With two outs, Henson tripled to center and would later score on an RBI single from Stack. Going into the fourth, Ohio led 4-2.
The Zips put runners in scoring position again in the fourth and scored a run, cutting the Ohio lead to 4-3.
Akron would load the bases in the fifth before bringing home four runs and taking a 7-4 lead. The Zips would add on again in the eighth to make it 8-4.
In the eighth, junior outfielder
Taylor Harris (Parrish, Fla.) lined a double to the left-center field fence, which would start a two-run rally for the Bobcats. Hill would record an RBI, and the tying run would come to the plate, but the deficit remained 8-6 headed into the game's final frame.
The Zips would add a run in the ninth, which was enough to win the game 9-6 over Ohio.
Up next, the Bobcats will complete their series with Akron tomorrow (April 26) at Bob Wren Stadium. That game will get started at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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