Miami University
Buffalo
Baseball Blanks Buffalo and Completes Series Sweep of Bulls
5/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 6, 2006
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University baseball team banged out 14 hits and sophomore John Ely tossed 7.0 innings of shutout baseball as the RedHawks (24-22, 12-9 MAC) won their seventh consecutive game with a 12-0 win over the Buffalo Bulls (13-33, 4-17 MAC) on Saturday. The win solidified Miami's hold on second in the Mid-American Conference's East Division and gave the Red and White their second consecutive series sweep after taking all three games from Bowling Green last weekend.
With three hits in the bottom of first inning Miami put a trio of runs on the board and took a 3-0 lead. Two of the three hits came with two outs as freshman Jordan Petraitis (Canal Fulton, Ohio) and senior Jon Franzese (Barrington, Ill.) both delivered two-out RBIs for the RedHawks.
Junior Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill.) doubled to lead off the second inning and scored two batters later on freshman Evan Armitage's (Milford, Ill.) groundball to the right side of the infield for a 4-0 Miami lead.
Senior Geoff Orr's (Orland Park, Ill.) leadoff double in the third was not wasted as he came around to score for a 5-0 Miami lead. With one out in the inning, Petraitis laced a single to left centerfield that allowed Orr to scamper home and gave Petraitis his second RBI of the afternoon.
The RedHawks added to their lead with three runs in the fifth as they banged out four hits and took advantage of an error and a balk by the Bulls. The first three batters of the inning each reached base with a hit and all three came around to score for an 8-0 Miami lead. Orr and senior Jeff Carroll (Columbus, Ohio) both singled before Petraitis followed with a double to right. Orr scored on a fielding error by Buffalo's centerfielder, while Carroll came home on a balk. Petraitis scored Miami's eighth run when Hillier lined a single to left with two outs in the inn when Hillier lined a single to left with two outs in the inning.
The leadoff batter reached base again in the sixth for Miami as Armitage drew a walk, and after stealing second and advancing to third on an error, made it 9-0 for the RedHawks on Orr's single through the left side.
Miami added three more in the bottom of the seventh and took a 12-0 lead as the Red and White banged out a pair of hits and capitalized on two walks. Freshmen were responsible for all three runs in the frame as Blake Chaffee (Hudson, Ohio) and Eric Darlage (Powell, Ohio) each collected RBIs. Chafee drove in two with a double down the line in right, while Darlage's single plated one run to finish the scoring.
Junior Jeff Day (West Chester, Ohio) relieved starter John Ely (Homewood, Ill.) for Miami after the righthander tossed 7.0 innings and allowed just three hits while striking out seven. Day threw a scoreless eighth, allowing just one hit, before turning the ball over to senior Sam Shorts (Lombard, Ill.), who completed the shutout by fanning two Bulls in the ninth.
Ely picked up the win and improved to 6-2 on the season, while Buffalo's Shane Wolf was tagged with the loss and dropped to 1-8.
Miami returns to action with a pair of midweek contests, versus Marshall and Dayton, before hosting Ohio University next weekend for a three-game conference showdown. Tuesday's game versus Marshall gets underway at 6 p.m.
NOTES: Miami had the leadoff runner reach base in six of eight innings ... the RedHawks have swept three MAC series this season ... FR Jordan Petraitis finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
