Things were rough to begin with, as Ohio went through a gauntlet of a nonconference schedule in playing the #12 team in the country in Kentucky and #16 Georgia, along with other strong schools like Western Kentucky and Ohio State. Ohio held its own and battled in those games, but entered its first conference matchup with just a 6-12 record.
However, the Bobcats turned a corner in the midst of that run with a massive comeback effort against Marshall, which seemed to be a catalyst for success in the midseason. Down 7-1 at one point, the Bobcats exploded on offense in the sixth and seventh innings to rally to an 8-7 win on a walk-off from Caitlin Fogue.
The Marshall game was a microcosm of the season for Ohio. Down but not out, Ohio went on a furious stretch of games within their conference.
Ohio took the victory in seven consecutive games in early April and won 11 of 13 games in the following weeks. Ohio was flat out dominant against the MAC in the regular season. Ohio fought all the way back in the regular season to a .500 record at 23-23. They finished the season 17-10 in conference play, good enough for the #2 seed in the MAC tournament.
Unfortunately, Ohio’s season came to a close when it was overmatched in a 7-1 loss to Central Michigan and suffered a heartbreaking 5-3 loss to Bowling Green in 10 innings.
Ohio ended the year with a 23-25 record and won six of their conference series outright this season.
Statistics:
Ohio placed fifth in the MAC in team batting average at .274. The team was led by Annalia Paoli and Allie Englant, who boasted .371 and .368 averages respectively. Each of them also received First Team All-MAC honors. Ohio placed second in the MAC with 54 home runs, and Paoli topped the team lead with 11, as well as contributing a team leading 39 RBIs. Ohio placed third in the MAC in runs scored with 241 and placed second in the conference in slugging percentage at .466. Paoli was also named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Mideast Region Second Team.
The Bobcats placed eighth in the MAC in ERA at 4.54. The team was led by their workhorse Mackensie Kohl, who notched a 4.46 ERA over 201 innings pitched. Kohl picked up 136 strikeouts, a 1.63 WHIP and allowed a batting average of .298 to opposing hitters along with 24 complete games.
Ohio placed just ninth in the conference in fielding percentage at 95.2%. Ohio had 68 errors on the season but added 17 double plays. The defense was stellar at times and struggled at others, dealing with a lot of inconsistency. The defense was headed by Second Team All-MAC players in shortstop Megan McMenemy and catcher Brooke Rice.
Ohio’s season didn’t end ideally, but there was still plenty to be happy about.