BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

Dr. Acula · March 19, 2026, 09:00:09 AM

Plus if you have a turf field you can make money all summer letting travel tournaments rent your field Thu-Sun. I was talking with a HS coach last summer and he said turf was the best thing they ever did because not only can they be on their field more days, but also in the summer he doesn't need two guys to line the field, drag it, etc. He just shows up and unlocks the gates and leaves and they get paid for field rental. No supplies, no labor, etc.

Dr. Acula · March 21, 2026, 03:58:47 PM

BW beat Wilm 18-0 in a shortened game. Etta beat Ott 14-1 in a 1 hitter by Ziance. Woof.

Dr. Acula · March 22, 2026, 11:29:21 AM

BW, Etta and Mount sweep yesterday. The first two were expected against Wilm and Ott, respectively. Mount sweeping Cap on the road was a solid start. Any time you play a team that can hit you're always a little nervous. Depending on what lineup they run out there Cap has 6 or 7 legit bats in their lineup. Pitching is still not great, but in the current state of the OAC they're going to win games just by out slugging some teams.

Berg and Muskie split each winning a game 4-3. Wilm is at Berg next Saturday. Maybe that will tell us a little more about Berg. Right now my default is to say both of these teams are middle of the pack.

After one weekend my OAC tourney field thoughts are BW for sure, Mount pretty much for sure, ONU very likely and after that? You could easily talk me into a few teams at this point.

Dr. Acula · March 22, 2026, 10:29:01 PM

Mount split with CWRU today. Won the opener 8-5. Bullpen couldn't hold the lead the last couple innings of game 2 and dropped it 7-6. Not completely unexpected when you're into the last couple innings of your 4th game in 2 days. They just don't have the depth right now to navigate 36 innings in 2 days without some bumps. Good news was a couple freshmen, Jung (4.1 IP, 0 R) and Roberts (6.1 IP, 2 ER), both threw well against a good Case lineup. Another freshman, Logan Ellis, closed the 2nd game against Cap yesterday so Mount is building up some young arms for the future letting the kids pitch in big spots.

Looks like the only other action was Kenyon beating Wilm 8-1. The Quakers are 0-14 and I'm not sure where their first win is going to be. Witt will probably drum them on Tue. Then they have Bluffton Wed. I hope they get in the win column soon, but it may not be until April.

BobcatQB · March 23, 2026, 08:33:49 AM

Doesn't make sense to have back-to-back DH. Was one a make up? Still doesn't make sense, especially since the schools are so close. You could still play twice during the season, just split the days.

Heidelberg pitching ins't great but Muskingum can't hit so low scoring games. Muskies left 16 on base in game 2 including bases loaded in 8th and 9th. Berg's top 3-4 guys in the lineup are pretty solid. Hell, Tucker is at .442 from the bottom of the lineup.

If Ziance gets any help, he's not going to get beat much. Cards are going to continue to struggle..21-1 in a DH w/ 18 K. Ziance's only hit came from a kid I coached in HS so I'll take credit.

ONU lost series to Alma. Saw Alma at Muskingum last weekend..they are solid. Stechschulte led the Polar Bears offensively, going 6-7 at the plate with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs on Sat.

Dr. Acula · March 23, 2026, 11:54:51 AM

It wasn't a makeup. Mount has done this before. I don't hate it this early in the conference schedule because it keeps your #3 and 4 SP getting consistent work before you hit the midweek OAC DH. They could have just played a single 9 and had their starters split the game, but they need IP for the freshmen because those guys are going to have to pitch in OAC games at some point so despite the loss it accomplished what they needed.

BobcatQB · March 23, 2026, 01:52:12 PM

Like 2021 when OAC had DH every Sat and Sun...that was rough.

Ralph Turner · March 24, 2026, 12:52:27 PM

Quote from: BobcatQB on March 23, 2026, 01:52:12 PMLike 2021 when OAC had DH every Sat and Sun...that was rough.

The team with the deepest pitching staff survives.

Dr. Acula · March 25, 2026, 09:28:33 AM

Mount moved up a couple to #15 this week.

The Jackets cracked the top 25 this week at #25. BW threw out an attention getter yesterday blasting JCU 15-0. It was over when it was 13-0 after 4. I think you could make a very strong argument that BW has the best hitter (Kolenich) and the best pitcher (Kostura) in the conference. Once it's fully into conference play I think we continue to see their poll position rise.

BobcatQB · March 26, 2026, 01:11:04 PM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on March 25, 2026, 09:28:33 AMMount moved up a couple to #15 this week.

The Jackets cracked the top 25 this week at #25. BW threw out an attention getter yesterday blasting JCU 15-0. It was over when it was 13-0 after 4. I think you could make a very strong argument that BW has the best hitter (Kolenich) and the best pitcher (Kostura) in the conference. Once it's fully into conference play I think we continue to see their poll position rise.

71 total bases after 16 games..geesh.

Dr. Acula · March 27, 2026, 10:15:21 AM

Etta @ ONU is the most interesting match up this weekend IMO. ONU is also the only team hosting without turf so hopefully their field is good to go. I think the other DH are more likely than not going to be sweeps. Berg over Wilm, Mount over Ott and BW over Cap.

Dr. Acula · March 28, 2026, 11:40:11 AM

Everyone pushed back to tomorrow except BW. Their website still shows 1pm today vs. Cap.

Rough day for the Cap pitchers. 15-3 and 19-10 BW sweeps.

Dr. Acula · Reply #3477 - Re: BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

Etta and ONU split. I'm thinking this may be a common theme...Ziance wins his start (12-1 today) then they drop the 2nd game.

Berg swept Wilm. They run ruled the first game 12-2, but messed around a little being up 8-6 in the 6th in the 2nd game before putting the Quakers away. SIX errors for Berg in game 2.

Mount swept Ott, but it wasn't overly pretty. They played with their food a little today. Ickes wasn't sharp on the mound game 1 falling behind 5-1. Mount scored 10 unanswered to pull away. Tsouras hit 2 bombs giving him 8 now. Game 2 was actually well-pitched. Dennison is a work horse. Threw over 120 pitches again today and again he seems to be sharper and stronger the last 2-3 IP. Mount was up 3-2 in T9. That's when the circus started. 2 outs, no one on base. Two walks and a few passed balls/wild pitches later Ott is up 4-3 without putting a ball in play. B9 Mount gets back to back line drives to CF for singles. Sac bunt attempt results in another single. I'm feeling good. Strike out and pop out to SS. Ickes goes down 0-2 and proceeded to put together a clutch AB working a bases loaded walk to tie it. The very next pitch plunks Tome for the walk off. I felt bad for the freshman out there for Ott. It wasn't close and Tome got skimmed. It was just right at him and drilled him. That was the definition of giving it away and then escaping somehow.

BobcatQB · Reply #3478 - Re: BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

Capital have lost 7 of 8 including one to Bluffton..yikes. Still hitting but pitching isn't great. BW flexing their muscles. Going to be hard to beat. Playing better than they were last year.

Tsouras with 25 K's already..but I'm sure you'll look the other way with 8 bombs and 32 rbi in 22 games. Lineup continues to produce and pitching as been pretty good.