Kevin Mementowski will make his first career MAC start in Friday's series opener against Ball State.

April 5, 2007

ATHENS, Ohio - Fresh off snapping a nine-game losing streak Wednesday, the Ohio baseball team looks to carry the momentum into this weekend when the Bobcats host Ball State for three games beginning Friday at 6 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium.

The series will continue with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and conclude Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time. Saturday's game was originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. but was bumped up due to weather concerns. All three games can be heard on WATH 970 AM or online here.

Ohio-Ball State Game One Notes
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The Bobcats (10-15, 0-6) are looking for their first Mid-American Conference win of the season after starting out MAC play with sweeps at Northern Illinois and to Toledo. Ball State (11-16, 2-4) was swept by Miami last weekend.

The Bobcats were last in action Wednesday when they earned a 9-6, come-from-behind win over Marshall to snap a nine-game losing streak. The Bobcats scored six times in the seventh inning to erase a 4-2 deficit. Ohio was also in action Tuesday at Xavier and scored four times in the first three innings but did not get back on the scoreboard until the ninth inning in a 7-5 loss.

The Bobcats were swept in their MAC home opening series against Toledo last weekend. The two teams played a thriller of a game in the series opener Friday. Toledo carried a 6-3 lead into the eighth inning, but Ohio homered twice in the frame to tie the game at six. The two teams were still gridlocked at six heading into the 13th inning, when Scott Boley broke the tie with a three-run blast.

Ohio dropped game two of the three-game set Saturday by a score of 6-4. The Bobcats tagged the Rocket bullpen for three runs in the ninth and had the winning run on first base but could not complete the comeback. The series finale turned ugly for Ohio as Toledo scored five times in the third inning and then posted a nine-run seventh inning in an 18-6 win.

The Pitching Probables
(Ohio's probable listed first)
Fri. 4/6 - vs. Ball State, 6 p.m.
#27 Kevin Mementowski (So., RHP, 5-10, 190)
2-0, 1.96 ERA, 23.0 IP, 5 ER, 18 K, 9 BB

#13 Brenden Stines (So., RHP, 6-2, 185)
2-5, 5.95 ERA, 39.1 IP, 26 ER, 34 K, 20 BB

Sat. 4/7 - vs. Ball State, 3 p.m.
#33 Chris Rigo (So., RHP, 6-3, 185)
0-0, 3.60 ERA, 20 IP, 8 ER, 8 K, 7 BB

#33 Tyler Pritchard (Jr., RHP, 6-4, 180)
1-5, 4.93 ERA, 38.1 IP, 21 ER, 23 K, 9 BB

Sun. 4/8 - vs. Ball State, 1 p.m.
#35 Zeke Isaacs (Sr., RHP, 6-2, 190)
0-1, 5.52 ERA, 29.1 IP, 18 ER, 26 K, 13 BB

#34 Ryan DeGeeter (Sr., RHP, 6-5, 215)
4-2, 5.35 ERA, 38.2 IP, 23 ER, 27 K, 14 BB

The Coaches
Ohio's Joe Carbone is in his 19th season at Ohio and has posted a 543-450-2 record. Carbone is second all-time in the MAC in both overall and conference wins. He passed Stan Sanders for second place on the MAC all-time wins list March 3 with a win over Otterbein. Ball State's Greg Beals is in his fifth season with the Cardinals and has led them to a 151-105 career record heading into this weekend.

Quick Hits
- Ohio owns a 28-19 edge in the all-time series against Ball State since Carbone became Ohio's head coach in 1989.
- Ohio took two of three from the Cardinals last season in Muncie, Ind.
- Ohio is 10-5 at home this season.
- Matt Stiffler's (Bellbrook, Ohio) 26 walks leads the MAC while Marc Krauss' (Deshler, Ohio) 19 is good for second.
- An Ohio starting pitcher has not tossed six or more innings since Matt Schlarb (Lexington, Ohio) on March 18 against Oakland (11 games).

Fun at the Ballpark
Saturday and Sunday's games at Bob Wren Stadium feature some special promotions. Saturday is the Bobcat Cookout, with a $5 ticket earning admission to the game and a cookout meal (chicken, hot dog, or sausage and Pepsi). Saturday is also Ohio Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day, with all Ohio University faculty and staff, and their families, earning free admission with a valid ID.

Sunday is Fan Appreciation Day at Bob Wren Stadium. Admission to the game is free for all fans and the first 50 through the gates receive a voucher for free ice cream from Sonic.