Hawks comeback earns split against Bryant & Stratton
The Hocking College Hawks baseball team returned to action at Beavers Field Friday afternoon opening OCCAC play with a twin bill against the Bryant & Stratton (OH) Bobcats. In Game 1 the Hawks dropped a 5-1 decision to the Bobcats.
The Hawks got on the board in the first inning after an Ian Ellis ground out scored Mark Abel. In the top of 3rd inning Jack Amis led off with a single for the Bobcats. After stealing 2nd and advancing to 3rd on a error, Amis scored for the Bobcats on a passed ball to even the score at 1-1. After the Hawks went down in the bottom half of the third, Brody Puchmajer led off the 4th with a double for the Bobcats. After advancing to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt, Puchmajer scored on a ground out to give the Bobcats a lead they wouldn't relenquish. The Bobcats would tack on 3 more in the fifth to give themselves a 5-1 lead that would end up being the final score.
Freshmen RHP Van Dutton (Marion, OH) took the loss for the Hawks scattering 4 hits and giving up 3 earned runs while striking out 9 Bobcats.
In game 2 the Hawks spotted the Bobcats 5 runs in the top of the first inning before starting the comeback in the third inning by scoring two runs in the bottom half of the inning as Ronnie Rowley hit a 2-out, 2 run homer to left field to get the Hawks to 5-2. After trading runs the Hawks found themselves down 6-4 going into the 7th inning. After the Bobcats tacked on two more runs to take an 8-4 lead going into the bottom half, the Hawks started mounting a comeback. Abel started the inning off getting hit by a pitch. Ronnie Rowly came up next and his ground ball error advanced him all the way to 3rd base allowing Abel to score. After an infield pop out, DuShaun Tucker's single to left scored Rowley. The Bobcats made a pitching change and Hunter Burns ripped a single to left to advance Tucker to 2nd. With Joshua Jackson at the plate, both Tucker and Burns advanced on a passed ball only to be held up on a ground out back to the pitcher. Down to their last out, Tucker scored on another passed ball and Burns advanced to third and scored on a single by sophomore Luke Stollings to tie the game at 8-8. Stollings advanced to second on another passed ball and was pinch run for by Freshman Dominick Vasquez who then scored on Ian Ellis's single to right field to send the Hawks off as winners in the night cap 9-8.
Sophomore RHP Nick Reed entered the game in the first inning in relief and shut down the Bobcats over 4 1/3 innings giving up only one run while scattering six hits to keep the Hawks in the game. Freshman Micah Morrison pitched the final 2 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win as he only gave up one hit.
The Hawks (3-10, 1-1) return to action Wednesday March 27th for an OCCAC doubleheader at The Pipe Yard in Lorain, OH against the Lorain County Community College Commodores with first pitch at 1:00pm ET.