May 17, 2008
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - Seven Miami seniors hit the field for their final game in a RedHawk uniform and the RedHawks made a ninth-inning rally for the second game in a row, but Miami fell to Kent State, 8-6, in the rubber match of a three-game set Sunday afternoon. Seniors Steve Antoniotti, Evan Armitage, Nate Halm, J.D. Mynhier, Chris Niro, Bobby Oberschlake and Chris Rodriguez were honored, along with their families, prior to the start of the game.
Miami (18-36; 8-19 MAC) took the first lead of the game in the third inning courtesy of a two-out hit. With one out in the inning, junior Jordan Petraitis doubled to the wall in right-center field, placing a runner in scoring position. After a pop out, Mynhier singled to right field allowing Petraitis to cross the plate, giving the RedHawks a 1-0 lead.
The long ball helped Miami increase its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning. Junior Blake Chaffee lined a one ball, zero strikes fastball over the center field fence upping the lead to 2-0. With two outs in the inning, Halm hammered a breaking ball over the left field wall that easily cleared the fence and moved the RedHawk advantage to 3-0. Chaffee's home run was the first of the season, while Halm's was his first home run in a RedHawk uniform.
A two-run home run by Ben Klafczynski, two Miami errors and three-run home run by Greg Rohan helped Kent State (33-20; 16-8 MAC) put six runs on the board as the Golden Flashes took a 6-3 lead.
The RedHawks closed within two runs after tacking a run on the board in the seventh inning. Junior Tommy Nurre blooped a double down the right field line to start things off, giving Nurre his 22nd double of the season and making him Miami's single-season doubles leader. Two batters later, Armitage singled to center field, which plated Nurre and moved the score to 6-4 in Kent State's favor.
In the top of the eighth inning, Kent State manufactured a run off a lead-off double to re-establish a three-run lead, 7-4.
The Golden Flashes tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth inning extending their lead to 8-4 as the RedHawks looked for their second consecutive come-from-behind win. With one out, Petraitis and Nurre hit back-to-back solo home runs, cutting the deficit to 8-6. Mynhier followed with a double that hit the top of the wall in right field, placing another runner in scoring position with less than one out. However, a ground out and a fly out ended the inning and Kent State left McKie Field at Hayden Park with a 8-6 win.
All seven of Miami's seniors saw action in their final game in a RedHawk uniform. Antoniotti pitched an inning of scoreless relief, Armitage went 1-for-5 with a RBI, Halm went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, while Mynhier went 2-for-5 with a double. Niro went 6 1/3 innings and gave up just two earned runs in his final start on the mound. In relief, Oberschlake pitched 2/3 of an inning, while Rodriguez went 0-for-3 from the plate with a walk.
