Bobcats On A 12 Game Tear

The reigning, the defending, the undisputed 2021 Champions of the OCCAC have been rolling as of late coming out on top in their last 12 match ups. The Bobcats currently sitting at 24-9 on the season finished March with a 12-5 record and have since gone 14-1 in games played. That one loss coming to Clark State in a double header split on a miserably cold, wet, windy day off the coast of Lake Erie at Force Sports Park. During this 12 game tear, a school record, the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 140-41 and out hit them 142-62. To look at the numbers another way, the Bobcats have won the last twelve games by an average box score of: 

The Bobcat offense has been putting up prolific numbers averaging nearly twelve runs and twelve hits a game while batting .412 and slugging .690 as a team. 

 Equally impressive has been the Bobcat defense that is averaging less than 1 defensive error per game over the past 12 games. Even more impressive, if you take out their first game (a 5-4 win over Clark on a terrible day to play ball) in which they made 4 errors, the team is averaging just 0.5 errors per game. 

While the Bobcat offense has moved some opponent pitchers to tears, and the defense has been ironclad, the pitching staff has been just as impressive limiting opponents to an average of 8.5 baserunners per game (61 hits, 34 walks, 5 HBP / 12 games) or a WHIP (Walks and Hits per inning pitched) of just 1.3. In other words, not only are opponents not scoring runs off the Bobcat pitching staff, they are barely reaching first base. The Bobcat pitchers have retired 92 opponent hitters via the strikeout in the 12 game streak, averaging 7.5 Ks per game, while tossing 63% strikes along the way. 

While the Bobcats collectively have put up some eye popping numbers, individually they are even more impressive. Offensively Tylor Wolfe, Domonic Prevesk, and Ryan Horstman have put up numbers typically seen with end-of -the-year MVP accolades next to them. Over the past 12 games Wolfe is hitting .576 (19-33) with 13 singles, 2 doubles, 3 triples, and a home run. He has scored 16 times and drove in 10 RBI. Domonic Prevesk, who has been incredible all season reaching base at .600 clip, is right behind Wolfe hitting .538 during the streak. Dom has 21 hits in 39 tries with 9 singles, 7 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 home runs. Prevesk has scored 16 times and drove in 23 while only striking out twice in his 42 plate appearances. Last but not least, Ryan Horstman. Horstman has been on a prodigious pace over the last dozen games clobbering opposing pitching like he's playing slowpitch softball. Horstman is batting .517 with 15 hits in 29 at bats, 10 of those 15 hits good for extra bases as he has collected 4 doubles, a triple, and 5 home runs good for head spinning 1.161 slugging. While he has been showing off the power, he has maintained his good eye at the plate reaching 7 times by walk. 

Hortsman isn't the only Bobcat with hawk-like vision at the dish. Over the 12 game winning streak the Bobcats have walked 92 times. Horstman and 7 other Bobcats are seeing over 3.5 pitches per at bat, led by Sophomore Caleb Atwood who is seeing nearly 4.5 pitches every time he walks to the plate during this streak (6 walks in 9 plate appearances.) Seeing pitches doesn't seem like a big stat, but it runs up pitch counts limiting the distance starting pitchers can go. This allows the Bobcats to get deep into the opposing bullpen by the end of a 4 game series. 

Other Bobcats to mention, Rontrell Greer has hit 3 home runs and driven in 10 runs over the 12 games, John Costella has 2 home runs and 8 RBI. Jackson Homage has been a thorn in opposing team's sides hitting .444 with 14 RBI and 13 runs scored out of the bottom of the lineup. 

Dominant Bobcat starting pitching continues to be the story on the mound. Noah Brite, Tyler Schlick, and Hudson Cornett have all logged 2 wins in the last 12 games. Brite has dazzled all season, but in his 3 appearances during the last 12 games the big righty has been downright unhittable. He has tossed a combined 13.1 innings and in those 13 innings he has only allowed 3 runs (none earned) on 5 hits and 4 walks while he has struck out 20 batters. Tyler Schlick hasn't been far off Brite's pace as he has allowed just 1 earned run on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 18 across his last 12 innings on the hill. Jagger Jefferis has worked 10 innings striking out 18 and Matthew Blanchard has worked 6 innings striking out 11. Further down the line CJ Kross has worked 4 innings striking out 4 and hasn't allowed a run to score, and Austen Price has been a perfect 2-2 in save opportunities and earned a win allowing 1 run while striking out 7 in his 5 innings of work. 

The Bobcats have been a fun team to watch all season, but they are playing a very high level of baseball right now. Anybody interested in watching the boys work towards retaining ther OCCAC Champion status can watch them take on Lakeland at Crushers Stadium this Friday, and at Cisar Field in Solon Community Park this Saturday.