March 25, 2006
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - Despite a solid outing from senior lefthander Graham Taylor (Villa Hills. Ky.), the Miami University baseball team (7-10; 0-2 MAC) dropped it second straight game to Toledo, 4-1, at Scott Park on Saturday. Miami's offense never got on track in the contest as it managed three hits and scored its lone run on a fifth-inning home run from freshman Jordan Petraitis (Canal Fulton, Ohio).
Both teams went quietly the first time through the order as Taylor and Toledo's Kyle Rawlings faced the minimum number of batters through three innings. Taylor only allowed one base runner on a third-inning single to Joel Visser, but he was wiped out after being caught stealing at second base. Miami managed two walks through the first three frames but could not put a runner in scoring position, as a first-inning pickoff and a third-inning double play erased both base runners.
Petraitis broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the fifth inning with an opposite-field solo home run. After Miami went the first 4.1 innings without a hit, Petraitis smoked a 1-0 offering from Rawlings deep beyond the rightfield fence, staking the RedHawks to a 1-0 lead. The home run was Petraitis' second career four-bagger, and it gave him his team-leading 12th RBI.
Taylor worked out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth after allowing a leadoff double to Ryan Laude. With Laude in scoring position, Taylor retired the next three batters in order, getting the final out with a strikeout of Jake Oester on a 3-2 pitch. The punchout stranded Laude and kept Miami's one-run lead intact.
Toledo was held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when it pushed three runs across. After loading the bases with no outs, a two-run single by Jason Watson and a RedHawk throwing error put the Rockets on top, 3-1.
After Miami loaded the bases but did not score in the top of the seventh, the Rockets tacked on a single run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Oester clubbed a solo home run to right centerfield, extending Toledo's advantage to 4-1.
Miami put one runner on base in the ninth inning but could not bring the tying run to the plate. The defeat handed Miami its first loss in a MAC series since May 21-23, 2004 against Kent State.
Taylor (1-3) worked 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits and allowing four earned runs. He struck out four and walked two batters.
Petraitis was the only Miami batter with a multi-hit game as he finished 2-for-4. Senior Jason Brown (Fairfield, Ohio) notched the RedHawks' only other hit as he went 1-for-3.
Miami wraps up its three-game series with Toledo tomorrow at 1 p.m.
