Mountaineers topple Ohio 16-8

by Lonnie McMillan
Staff Writer

The Ohio baseball team remained hitless until the fifth inning, and the Bobcats could not recover yesterday at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio lost to West Virginia 16-8.

West Virginia pitcher Zac Cline (4-1) did not give up a hit until outfielder Brian White hit a home run in the fifth inning.

Cline pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on four hits, while striking out eight. Ohio coach Joe Carbone said Cline held the Bobcats in check.

“The first four innings, he threw extremely well,” Carbone said. “He’s a quality left-handed pitcher. He dominated us at first.”

Ohio (13-20) got to Cline in the sixth inning, scoring three runs. The Ohio pitching staff, however, already gave up nine runs.

Outfielder Mike Arbinger hit a solo home run in that inning — his 13th of the season. Outfielder Brandon Wheeler drove in the other two runs with a pinch-hit double.

After West Virginia (20-16) added a run in the top of the seventh inning, Ohio trimmed the lead to 10-8 after three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

With the score 11-8 going into the ninth, the Mountaineers put the game away by scoring five runs off Ohio pitchers Aaron Smigelski and Dan Cobb.

Despite managing only five hits, Ohio drew six walks. White said the team did a solid job manufacturing runs.

“We got more walks, and got our runners in when we get them in scoring position,” he said. “We didn’t leave people on base.”

West Virginia’s bullpen allowed only one Ohio hit. Arbinger said West Virginia’s pitchers made the right pitches at opportune times.

“We got pitched pretty well,” he said. “They made key pitches on key counts, which made it tough to hit all day.”

Third baseman Tim McCabe torched Ohio with four hits, including a pair of home runs and a double. He scored three runs and had four runs batted in.

Shaun Peet (0-1) took the loss for Ohio. In three innings of work, he surrendered four runs on six hits and struck out two.

West Virginia pitcher Billy Biggs earned a save, holding Ohio hitless the final 2 2/3 innings of the game.

The Bobcats will try to rebound with a four-game series this weekend against last-place Buffalo. The series begins 3 p.m. Friday at Bob Wren Stadium.