April 19, 2006
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - An error with two outs in the eighth inning proved costly for the Miami RedHawks (17-18) as the Indiana State Sycamores (17-20) scored twice after the miscue and came from behind to down the Red and White 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Indiana State put three runs on the board in the top of the first inning off Miami starter Jeff Day (West Chester, Ohio). The Sycamores collected five hits in the inning and capitalized on a Miami error and passed ball.
Day settled down after the first inning and the RedHawks responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third cutting ISU's lead to 3-2. With one out and two runners on, pinch-hitter Will Reynolds (Brownsburg, Ind.) scorched a single through the middle that plated junior Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill) from second base. The next batter, freshman Jordan Petraitis (Canal Fulton, Ohio), laced a single to left that scored senior Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill.) for Miami's second run of the inning.
A two-strike two-out home run off the bat of Orr pulled the RedHawks even with the Sycamores in the bottom of the fifth inning. With a 1-2 count, Miami's second baseman took Chad Dawson's offering and lofted it deep over the left field fence for his third home run of the year.
Petraitis gave Miami its first lead of the night when his two-out single in the bottom of the seventh scored junior Ryne Robinson (Toledo, Ohio) from third and made it 4-3 for Miami. The RedHawks capitalized on a fielding error by Dawson when he misplayed Hillier's sacrifice bunt after Robinson led off the frame with a single to center.
The Sycamores scored a pair of unearned runs in the top half of the eighth after the RedHawks appeared to have escaped the inning without any damage. With two outs in the inning, a throw to Day covering first base was wild after he induced what appeared to be an inning-ending groundball to second. The defensive miscue opened the door for Josh Abercrombie to belt a two-RBI double down the right field line that gave ISU a 5-4 lead and proved to be the winning run.
Day was tagged with the loss and dropped to 1-4 on the season but pitched very effectively for the final 6.2 innings of his outing.
Miami hits the road for a three-game Mid-American Conference series with the Kent State Golden Flashes on April 21-23. Sophomore righthander John Ely (Homewood, Ill.) is slated to start game one of the series for Miami.
NOTES: FR Dante DiSabato and Blake Chaffee made their collegiate debuts as defensive replacements in the ninth inning ... FR Jordan Petraitis finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
