Miami University
Birmingham-Southern
Miami Baseball Moves Winning Streak To Season-High Six Games
4/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 10, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University baseball team (20-11) extended its winning streak to a season-high six games on Sunday afternoon as they completed a three-game series sweep of Birmingham-Southern College with a 7-3, come-from-behind victory. Freshman John Ely (Homewood, Ill.) fanned a career-high 12 batters in the game.
For the first time in the series, Birmingham-Southern got on the board first with a run in the top of the first inning. The leadoff batter, Scott Billak tripled off the wall in centerfield and came into score on an infield single by Jonathan Sanford. Ely proceeded to retire the next three batters in order via strikeout.
Sophomores Ryne Robinson (Toledo, Ohio) and Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill.) hit back-to-back doubles leading off the home half of the first for Miami. Hillier's double to left centerfield, his third of the season, plated Robinson from second, after Robinson ripped a 2-2 pitch just inside the line at third base.
Neither team scored again until the top of the fifth inning when the Panthers made it 3-1 with a pair of runs on three hits. Both runs came with two outs in the inning.
Senior Paul Frietch's (Cincinnati, Ohio) ninth double of the year plated two runs for Miami in the bottom of the sixth and evened the score, 3-3. Hillier singled to lead off the inning and was followed two batters later by senior Brian Canada (Fishers, Ind.), who singled to left, setting the table for Frietch's game-tying double down the rightfield line.
For the second game in a row, the RedHawks broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning, this time scoring four runs and putting the game out of reach at 7-3. Junior Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill.) broke the 3-3 tie with the game-winning RBI as his single to left scored senior John Slone (Cincinnati, Ohio) from second base. Pinch-hitter Jon Franzese (Barrington, Ill.) followed Orr with a two-RBI double down the leftfield line and was followed by classmate Eric Radley (Hermitage, Tenn.) whose single up the middle made it 7-3.
Ely set down the Panthers in order in the ninth, punctuated by his 12th strikeout of the afternoon to finish the game. For the third consecutive time, Ely went the distance, allowing two runs on just six hits and striking out 12 batters. The victory moves his season record to 4-1. Opponents are hitting just .191 off the righthander this season and he has a team-leading 1.96 earned run average. He has allowed only nine earned runs in 41.1 innings this season.
Miami continues its homestand on Tuesday with a non-conference game versus Ball State on Tuesday, April 12, with the first pitch slated for 3 p.m. Junior righthander Matt Long (Granville, Ohio) will toe the rubber for Miami.
Notes: FR John Ely set a career high with 12 strikeouts in the game ... the RedHawks are now hitting .292 as a team, led by SR Brian Canada's .375 average ... Six Miami regulars are hitting over .300 ... Miami's team ERA is a miniscule 3.31 in 2005 ... the RedHawks are now 16-1 when leading after eight innings.
