Bobcats reborn with wins over Huskies

by Anthony Castrovince
Staff Writer

It was not long ago - just over two weeks to be exact - that the Ohio baseball team was on the fast track to an uncharacteristically early end to its season.

Ten Mid-American Conference victories later, the Bobcats' train has veered in another direction. They have clinched a berth to the MAC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Muncie, Ind. Ohio (29-23 overall, 16-11 MAC) took three of four games at Northern Illinois this weekend to put the stamp on an impressive regular-season finish.

After taking three games from Miami and sweeping Marshall, Ohio had temporarily grabbed the sixth and final seed in the tournament, but the team still needed a minimum of two wins against the Huskies (28-27, 10-17) to stay alive.

On Friday, Denny McGee (10-2) took the hill for the Bobcats and allowed six earned runs off 10 hits in seven innings pitched, counterbalancing his 2.65 earned run average. The five hurlers Northern Illinois used did not do much better, however, and the Bobcats took the first game 15-7.

The Bobcats fell behind 3-0 early, but used a six-run second inning and five home runs to take the game. Ohio third baseman Adam Fox was belligerent at the plate, going 5-for-6 with five RBI, four runs scored and two dingers.

Northern Illinois coach Dave Schrage said McGee stayed strong, despite getting hit hard early.

"I was proud of how we attacked McGee with 10 hits," he said. "But it's tough to get behind and keep having to come back. Our pitchers need to keep the momentum and shut them down. Their pitcher did that. That's why he's 10-2, because he made the pitches he needed in key situations."

Saturday's twin bill left each team with a victory. The Huskies came out with a 6-5 win in the opener, securing only their second winning season since 1977. With their 20-15 victory in the nightcap, the Bobcats clinched their bid to the postseason.

Ohio fell behind 5-3 in the first game of the doubleheader, but rallied for two runs in the team's final at-bat. The Huskies grabbed the win, however, with designated hitter Rob Marconi's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

In the second game, the Bobcats pounded out 19 hits and four home runs - one by the streaking Fox - to earn Marc Cornell his fourth win of the season. Ohio vaulted to a 9-0 lead in the first inning and cruised from there.

With the tournament berth clinched, yesterday's game was important only for seeding purposes, and the Bobcats picked up the fourth spot with a 7-2 victory. Ohio was down 2-1 heading into the ninth inning, but a home run by catcher Scott Brownlee sparked a six-run Ohio rally, and Chris Bova (4-1) picked up the win in relief.

Ohio will take on the third-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes in Wednesday's tournament opener. Coach Joe Carbone said the Bobcats are happy with the chance to take on a heated rival.

"We have a lot of respect for Kent State's baseball program," he said. "We were disappointed we didn't get to play each other (in the regular season), but now we've got our chance."

The Bobcats and Golden Flashes (26-26, 17-10) will take the field at Muncie's Ball Diamond at 11 a.m. EST Wednesday.