April 30, 2004
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - A perfect day at the plate by junior Brian Canada (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) helped the Miami (26-13, 8-3 Mid-American Conference) baseball team win its eighth MAC game of the season at Toledo, 9-2, on Friday afternoon. Canada hit one home run in the contest and was 5-for-5 with five RBIs.
The RedHawks got out of the gates quickly with a two-run lead after the top of the first inning, 2-0. Junior John Slone (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and Mike Ferris (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) got on base via a single and base on balls, respectively, and then advanced to second and third via a passed ball. A two-RBI single by Canada took care of the rest when he knocked a Texas Leaguer into right field.
Hitting his third home run in his last five at-bats, sophomore Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) upped the RedHawks lead to 3-0 with a solo jack in the top of the second. Orr took the 2-1 offering from Toledo's J.R. Duffey deep over the leftfield wall for his sixth home run of the season.
The RedHawks scored another run in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Canada to take a 4-0 lead. The shot went out of Scott Park to left field giving Canada his sixth bomb of the year.
Toledo wrecked the shutout bid of sophomore hurler Graham Taylor (Villa Hills, Ky./Dixie Heights) in the bottom of the sixth inning with two runs. Jarrod Resendez ripped a ground ball at the RedHawks third baseman Canada, which took an erratic bounce off the turf and then Canada's shoulder into center field. Resendez ended up on second base and then Aaron Rouser followed with another double to score the Rockets first run. A single by Sean Dobson scored another run for UT to cut the gap to two, 4-2. Taylor got out of the inning allowing only two runs by striking out the side.
Miami bounced back in the the top of the seventh inning with a three-run rally, which forced Toledo starter Duffey out of the game. Freshman Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) led off with a triple and then scored after Slone was hit by a pitch on a fielder's choice by Ferris. The throw beat Hillier to the plate, but a great slide around the catcher allowed him to score before the tag was applied. Later with the bases loaded, Canada brought home his fourth and fifth RBIs on a single to make it 7-2.
Junior Courtney Campbell (Evansville, Ind./Lincoln CC) crossed the plate in the eighth frame to give Miami a six-run lead, 8-2. Campbell led off with a single and then stole second to move into scoring position. A wild pitch moved him over to third and then he scored when the UT pitcher made a throwing error on a failed pickoff to first base.
Canada finished off his perfect 5-for-5 day by leading off the ninth stanza with a double down the rightfield line. Two batters later, Orr recorded a double by noticing the centerfielder taking his time fielding what should have been just a single up the middle. Scoring on Orr's smart base-running double was Canada to up Miami's lead to seven, 9-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, Taylor polished off his fourth win of the season with only an error preventing him from sending the Rockets down 1-2-3. Taylor struck out seven and walked zero as he evens his record at 4-4.
The RedHawks and Toledo meet again tomorrow for game two of the weekend series at 1 p.m. Scheduled to start for the Red and White is freshman Jeff Day (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East).
