3 Jan
1-3 Top 5 2009 Ohio Sports Moments
#5. April 11: Joe Carbone wins his 600th game as Ohio beats Eastern Michigan 6-4 in Ypsilanti.
Reaction: A class act and a true Bobcat, Carbone is 72 MAC wins behind WMU legend Fred Decker, who has a 401 league victories. Carbone and Decker are the only two MAC coaches with at least 600 wins.
#4. January 14: Jerome Tillman goes off for a career-high 35 points, 29 coming in the second half, as Ohio beats Miami (OH) 66-62 at Millett Hall.
Reaction: Tillman scored Ohio’s first 18 points of the second half, and he scored in every imaginable way.
#3. December 4: Ohio volleyball beats Notre Dame in five sets to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Ann Arbor Michigan.
Reaction: This quote says it all: “I’m thrilled for these seniors, who have been stopped three times from getting to the second round,” said coach Ryan Theis. “Now they get to do it.” Ellen Herman, who leaves Ohio as one of the best athletes to ever step foot on campus, becomes the MAC’s all-time kills leader the next night as her 24 smacks are not enough to beat Michigan in a five-set loss.
#2. June 9: Ohio slugger Marc Krauss is drafted 64th overall in the second round to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball Draft. Krauss batted .402 with 27 home runs and a .521 on-base percentage in 53 games.
Reaction: It could not happen to a better guy in Krauss, who on May 19 became the first Bobcat to win MAC Player of the Year in the 23-season history of the award.
#1. November 27: Theo Scott lives up to his superman undershirt as Ohio thumps Temple 35-17 at Peden Stadium to advance to a second MAC title game trip in the last four years. Scott’s numbers: 17-21 for 324 yards and three passing touchdowns. Six rushes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Reaction: Lost in this game is the performance of Ohio’s front line, which held Temple DE Adrian Robinson to one tackle. He came in with a league-best 11 sacks. The 14,135 in attendance that cold, wet, post-Thanksgiving day got their money’s worth.
- Your thoughts? E-mail me at caleb@calebtroop.com.