Miami (Ohio) Wins (Graphic by Miami University Athletics)
Southwest Ohio is off to the best start, being led by Cincinnati, Dayton, and Miami!
Ohio State 5-2 (0-0 in the Big Ten)
The Buckeyes followed their season-opening sweep of St. Louis with four games in Memphis. They played the host team, the Memphis Tigers, twice, and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs twice as well. The Buckeyes fell both times to Louisiana Tech but were able to beat Memphis twice to split their four games 2-2. This week, things get much tougher for Ohio State as they head to Houston, Texas. There, they’ll take on UTSA, Ole Miss, and the Texas Longhorns.
Cincinnati 5-3 (0-0 in the Big Ten)
The boys from the banks of the Ohio kept their eight-game stint in Alabama going well on Tuesday with an 8-0 victory over the SEC’s Auburn. They then went to Birmingham to take on UAB for four games. They lost a nail-biter in the first game of the series, 12-11. The Blazers took game two as well, 8-3. Cincy bounced back on Saturday with an 8-4 win. Their Sunday victory of 8-6 split the series, and the Cats left the state of Alabama with a 5-3 record. They’ll have their home opener on Wednesday in the Queen City against Bowling Green. The Bearcats will then host Austin Peay for three games this weekend.
Xavier 2-5 (0-0 in the Big East)
X had a rough Week 2. They played four straight games on the road against ranked teams and it didn’t go that well. First, their pitching got absolutely murdered against Louisville, losing 23-11. Their next three against Arkansas were pretty bad, too. They dropped the first game, 5-2, the second game, 7-6, and the final game, 11-0. This week, Xavier will play a home game against the Indiana Hoosiers before heading to the West Coast for a series against Cal State Fullerton.
Dayton 4-2 (0-0 in the Big East)
UD recovered from their opening loss to Lipscomb with a big series at home against Eastern Kentucky. The Flyers had a huge Friday doubleheader. They won the first game 17-7. Their bats went off again on Friday for a 12-9 win in game two. Saturday was a little more calm, but Dayton still won, 3-1. Despite Sunday’s game being cancelled due to weather, Dayton still got a three-game sweep. They’ll look to keep that momentum with a game against Toledo on Wednesday, followed by four games against the Ohio Bobcats. They’ll play OU twice in Athens and twice in Dayton.
Wright State 1-5 (0-0 in the Horizon League)
The Raiders’ second week of the season was an unremarkable one. They got swept by the Charlotte 49ers. They dropped game one, 10-3, game two, 5-4, and the final game, 9-2. They’ll play the red-hot Kent State Golden Flashes at home this Wednesday before hitting the road for another weekend series. This time they’ll battle the Campbell Camels.
Youngstown State 0-7 (0-0 in the Horizon League)
The poor Penguins are off to the worst start of any team in Ohio. In their defense, they’ve had a tough opening schedule. They got swept by Auburn last week and then got swept in four games this week at Oregon. They lost their four games to the Ducks by a combined score of 43-7. YSU will stay on the road this week, this time with a series of four games against Longwood in Virginia.
Ohio 1-6 (0-0 in the MAC)
Another struggling team from the 17th state is the Ohio Bobcats. The Bobcats had a four-game series at Tennessee Tech over the weekend. Ohio was swept by Tech. They lost, 8-3, 6-4, 6-1, and 6-3, respectively. This week, they’ll play West Virginia before they have a four-game series against the Dayton Flyers.
Kent State 5-2 (0-0 in the MAC)
Kent State had to follow their Louisiana road trip with one to Knoxville, Tennessee. The Golden Flashes had a tall task in taking on Tennessee. The Vols took the first game on Friday, 4-3. Kent State struck back on Saturday, though. The Golden Flashes won in a low-scoring battle, 2-1. Sunday, Kent State got an emphatic win over the Volunteers, winning 9-5 and taking the series from the Vols in their ballpark. This week, Kent State will play Wright State in Dayton before opening at home with four games against Rhode Island.
Akron 3-4 (0-0 in the MAC)
The Zips struggled against Western Illinois this week. They lost two of their three against WIU. Akron fell in the first game, 16-8. They recovered for a win in the second game, emerging victorious, 5-0. They lost the deciding game, 10-6. This week, the Zips will take on Western Carolina on Tuesday, NC State on Wednesday, and then a weekend series against North Carolina A&T.
Miami (Ohio) 7-1 (0-0 in the MAC)
The RedHawks had a good four-game stand this past weekend in Port Charlotte, Florida. On Friday, they had a doubleheader. They won the first game, 11-8, over Brown. The second game didn’t go their way, as they fell to Indiana State, 11-3. Saturday, Miami had a shootout win, 14-12, over UMass-Lowell. They finished Sunday with their third win of the weekend, 5-3 against Illinois State. This week, they’ll play Southern Illinois on Wednesday, followed by a four-game weekend battle against Southeast Missouri State.
Toledo 1-5 (0-0 in the MAC)
The Rockets early season struggles continued against Jacksonville State this past weekend. Toledo fell on Friday, 5-0; they lost on Saturday, 2-1, and they were finally swept on Sunday, 12-9. This week, they’ll head south on I-75 to play the Dayton Flyers. After the game against UD, they’ll head further south for four games against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee.
Bowling Green 1-5 (0-0 in the MAC)
While their record didn’t improve much in the second week of the season, the play of the Bowling Green Falcons certainly did. After being blown out by Georgia Tech, they battled against Western Carolina. They lost the first game, 4-3, but rebounded and won the second game 6-5. They sadly fell, 5-0, in the deciding game on Sunday. This week they’ll play Cincinnati in the Queen City and then head south for a series against Samford.
Ohio Power Rankings
- Miami (Ohio) 7-1 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Kent State 5-2 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Ohio State 5-2 (0-0 in the Big Ten)
- Dayton 4-2 (0-0 in the Atlantic 10)
- Cincinnati 5-3 (0-0 in the Big 12)
- Akron 3-4 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Xavier 2-5 (0-0 in the Big East)
- Wright State 1-5 (0-0 in the Horizon League)
- Bowling Green 1-5 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Ohio 1-6 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Toledo 1-6 (0-0 in the MAC)
- Youngstown State 0-7 (0-0 in the Horizon League)
Nick Swisher-Mike Schmidt Player of the Week
Dayton’s Danny MacDougall is the week two player of the week. MacDougall was 7 of 11 in the series sweep of EKU. MacDougall had four doubles, three runs scored, and five stolen bases. Dayton swept EKU to start the season 4-2.
