C of O Baseball Returns Home

After a month on the road, the College of the Ozarks Baseball Team returned home for a game on Tuesday.

The complete release from C of O Sports Information is below:

On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, the College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats made their way back to Coach Bob Smith Field for a home contest against the William Woods Owls. The Bobcats had played their last 16 games on the road and while they had a successful 12-4 road swing, getting to play at home was a welcome change. 

With the starters going the distance in most of the recent games, the coaching staff called on relief pitcher, Joe Lee, to start the game and get some much-needed work. Lee followed the established pattern of the pitching staff and shut the Owls down in short order in the first. The Bobcats picked up a single off the bat of Spencer Greene but couldn’t string hits together to move him around. The Owls got things going in the second with a leadoff homerun, a walk, a hit by pitch and a two RBI double. A walk led to Ben Meyer coming on to pitch in relief. Meyer recorded the final two outs of the inning, but the Owls had put up seven runs to lead 7-0. Now in a hole, the Bobcats needed to begin chipping away at the lead. A pair of one out singles by Trey Riley and Chandler Tidwell started the offense and a Blake Hultgren walk kept things moving.  Riley scored in the inning but that was all the Bobcats could push across. A walk and a single put Meyer in a jam in the third. A single scored a pair of Owl runs before Meyer was able to record the final out of the inning. A leadoff walk to Caleb Johnson was all the Bobcats could get in the third and Meyer headed back out to pitch the fourth. A walk and a single brought in the third Bobcat pitcher, Devin McCullough. McCullough shut down the Owls and the game moved to the bottom of the fourth. The Bobcats needed base runners in order to get back in the game. Chandler Tidwell started things off with a double to right and Isaiah Smith was hit by a pitch. Chuck Hill walked to load the bases. Ryan Daggs picked up an RBI with a bases loaded walk and Smith crossed the plate on an Owl error. Chuck Hill and Ryan Daggs scored on a pair of passed balls and the Bobcats were back in contention. A strikeout ended the inning, but the Bobcats had scored four to make it a 9-5 game. McCullough pitched out of a jam in the top of the fifth to hold the Owls and the Bobcats needed more runs. Hultgren and Smith reached on a catcher’s interference and a walk, but the Bobcats could not move them along. McCullough headed back to the mound for the top of the sixth with the Bobcats trailing 9-5. A couple runners reached, and Colin Pyatt came on in relief shutting down the Owls to bring the Bobcats back to the plate. The Bobcats cut the gap in the bottom of the sixth with a Spencer Greene single followed by a walk to Caleb Johnson. Cadan Kauffman drove a ball over the left center field fence to cut the score to 9-8. Trey Riley singled but that was all the Bobcats could get. The Owls added an insurance run in the seventh and the Bobcat bats were unable to answer. The Owls continued to spread the gap in the eighth inning, adding a single run followed by a three-run homerun. Trailing 14-8, the Bobcats had more work to do if they were going to rally. A two out single off the bat of Trey Riley was followed by a Chandler Tidwell RBI double and the Bobcats trailed 14-9 heading to the ninth. Hunter Ridder came on to pitch the ninth and after a quick out, the Owls added to their total with a solo homerun over the right field fence before Ridder induced a double play to end the inning. The Bobcats were down to their final three outs with a six-run hole to climb out of. The Bobcats needed base runners and Isaiah Smith did his part leading off the ninth with a walk. Chuck Hill was hit by a pitch and with two outs, Spencer Greene ripped a single to score Smith. A wild pitched moved Hill and Greene to second and third and Cadan Kaufman kept the inning live with an RBI infield single. With runners on the corners and two outs, Kauffman was caught stealing and the Bobcats fell 15-11.

Spencer Greene, Trey Riley, and Chandler Tidwell each contributed three hits while Cadan Kauffman chipped in two, including a three-run blast. 

The Bobcats will be back in action at home this Friday and Saturday when they host Kansas Christian College. Game times Friday are 3:00 and 5:00 with games an Saturday scheduled for 12:00 and 2:00.