May 14, 2007
Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2
HUNTINGTON, W. Va.--Rounding out a four-day, five-game road stretch, Miami University's baseball team split a doubleheader at Marshall University on Monday afternoon, capturing the first game, 8-5, and falling in the nightcap, 4-3 in eight innings.
Game One: Miami 8, Marshall 5
Box Score
Three runs in the top of the seventh inning lifted Miami to an 8-5 win in the first game of the doubleheader.
A five-run third inning lifted Miami to a significant lead as the RedHawks posted a 5-1 advantage after three complete innings of play. Four straight singles by sophomore Blake Chaffee, junior Chris Niro, junior Evan Armitage and senior Brandon Hillier got things started for the RedHawks with Hillier's single plating Chaffee for the RedHawks' first run of the game.
Sophomore Jordan Petraitis nailed a two-run double to right field to score Niro and Armitage. Hillier scored on a sophomore Chris Nadeau ground out, while Petraitis crossed home plate on a sophomore Eric Darlage ground out to put the Miami lead at 5-0.
Marshall scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning when Clay Maddox scored off a Miami fielding error to put the Thundering Herd within four runs, 5-1. Marshall continued to shrink the gap in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring three runs off four hits to close within a run of the RedHawks, 5-4.
Josh Valle hit an RBI double to right field to plate Blake Sanders and even the score, 5-5, in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a scoreless seventh inning, Miami scored three runs to take an 8-5 lead, which would end up as the final tally. Nadeau hit an RBI single to right center, which scored Armitage for the go-ahead run. A Marshall fielding error allowed two more runners score as Darlage and Nadeau crossed home for the eventual 8-5 win.
Senior pitcher Bailey Pratt earned the win to move to 4-1 on the season, pitching the final 1.1 innings. Armitage paced the RedHawks at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs.
Game Two: Marshall 4, Miami 3 (8)
\Box Score
Marshall knotted the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth as the Thundering Herd took the nightcap against Miami, 4-3.
Marshall took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when two runs scored off an RBI single with a Miami error on the play.
The RedHawks cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning off a bunt single by Armitage to plate Niro and put Miami within one run of Marshall, 2-1.
An RBI double by Nadeau in the top of the sixth inning sent Hillier home to knot the game, 2-2, while a one-run single by senior Dan Leonard allowed Nadeau to score the go-ahead run to give the RedHawks a 3-2 lead.
Marshall hit an RBI single to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Miami went down in order in the top of the eighth inning before an RBI single through the left side with two outs handed the Thundering Herd the game, 4-3.
Armitage again led the RedHawks at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
The RedHawks return home for their final four games of the regular season, hosting Cincinnati at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16 before entertaining Akron May 17-19. Thursday's game is set for 6:30 p.m., Friday's game is slated for 5 p.m., while Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Miami will honor its five seniors prior to the first pitch on Saturday.
