ATHENS, Ohio – The Milwaukee baseball team scored one in the eighth but left three runners on in the final three innings, dropping the series finale to Ohio 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.
 
"It was a tough loss, but I loved the energy all day from the guys today," head coach Scott Doffek commented. "That was great to see. We got great pitching all game and really did some nice things in the box today."
 
Milwaukee (0-7) matched a season-high with nine hits and owned a 9-4 advantage in that column, but just couldn't find the gaps.
 
"We hit a bunch of hard balls with runners in scoring position, but just couldn't find a hole," Doffek continued. "It was good to see a few guys swinging it better who have been struggling as well."
 
Mitchell Buban finished 2-for-4 including an RBI single that put Milwaukee on top 1-0 in the third.
 
Ohio (6-3) strung together three straight hits in the bottom half to pull ahead 2-1 before scoring an unearned run on a wild pitch in the fourth for a 3-1 lead.
 
The Panthers threatened in the seventh with back-to-back one-out singles, but the Bobcats forced a pair of groundouts and escaped the jam unscathed.
 
In the eighth, Jack Kraus singled in Mike Ferri but pinch-runner Ty Olejnik was picked off to halt any momentum.
 
Jack Thelen opened the ninth with a base hit to keep the Panthers alive but Ohio's Edward Kutt IV worked a strikeout and a pair of fielder's choices to end the game.
 
Ferri and Thelen joined Buban, finishing 2-for-4 on the day.
 
Starting pitcher Riley Frey took the loss but tossed a solid 6.0 innings with four strikeouts allowing just four hits and two earned runs. James Severson tossed a clean seventh while AJ Blubaugh struck out two in the eighth.
 
"It will be nice to get a few guys back from COVID protocols as we start conference play next week," Doffek stated.
 
The Panthers will head to Chicago to open Horizon League play with a four-game series at UIC beginning on March 12. Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.