May 14, 2009
Box Score
KENT, Ohio - The offense scored early and often and pitching did the rest as the Miami University baseball team (28-21; 15-10 Mid-American Conference) cruised to a 14-3 victory over Kent State (36-15; 15-9 Mid-American Conference) Thursday afternoon.
The RedHawks were the first team to get something going, loading the bases with no outs to start the second inning. Sophomore shortstop Brad Gschwind (Cincinnati, Ohio) walked, sophomore second baseman Jon Edgington (Cincinnati, Ohio) singled and then freshman designated hitter Ryan Brenner (Kirtland, Ohio) reached on a perfect bunt down the third-base line to load the bases. The next batter - freshman center fielder Ryan Curl (Columbus, Ohio) - then laced a 3-2 fastball up the middle to plate Gschwind and give the RedHawks an early 1-0 lead.
Sophomore right fielder Adam Eaton (Springfield, Ohio) brought Edgington home on a soft groundout to shortstop and pushed the Miami lead to two. After senior third baseman Jordan Petraitis (Canal Fulton, Ohio) was hit by Kent State starter Brad Stillings to load the bases once more, senior left fielder Chris Nadeau (Saline, Mich.) singled sharply up the middle to score Brenner and Curl and make it a 4-0 Miami lead.
After a throwing error by the Kent third baseman loaded the bases for the third time in the second inning, Gschwind - the tenth batter of the inning - fisted a single into right field that scored Petraitis and Nadeau and gave Miami a 6-0 lead after an inning and a half. The hit also extended Gschwind's hitting streak to 13 games.
After cruising through the lineup the first time through, senior starting pitcher Matt Erwood (Atlanta, Ga.) gave up a solo shot to Chris Tremblay in the bottom of the third inning that got Kent State on the board and cut the RedHawk lead to 6-1.
Miami would waste no time getting the run back, as senior first baseman Tommy Nurre (Cincinnati, Ohio) blasted the second pitch of the fourth inning over the left centerfield fence for his 12th home run of the season - tying him for the team lead - and stretched the RedHawk lead to 7-1. Miami was not done in the inning, however. The RedHawks loaded the bases once more before Curl quickly unloaded them on a double to the right centerfield gap that scored sophomore catcher Adam Weisenburger (Plymouth, Minn.), Gschwind and Edgington to further the Miami lead to 10-1.
The Golden Flashes were able to put one more run on the board in the bottom on the fourth, but a spectacular play by Petraitis kept another run from scoring. Kent State's Brad Winter ripped a bases-loaded pitch down the left field line, but Petraitis dove and snagged it and was able to get Winter at first for the second out of the inning as only one run scored on the play. Miami held a 10-2 lead after four innings of play.
Miami was gifted another run in the fifth, when a wild pitch and a passed ball allowed Weisenburger to score from third and make it an 11-2 RedHawk lead.
The RedHawk offense did not let up in the sixth. After Curl and Eaton were hit by pitches, a double steal put them in scoring position with less than two outs. The steal was the 24th of the season for Eaton, and the 29th consecutive successful stolen base for the RedHawk right fielder dating back to last season. Nadeau then blooped a single into centerfield to score Curl and push the Miami lead to 12-2.
Erwood left the game after 6.0 strong innings, giving up just two runs on five hits while striking out two as he left in line for his seventh victory of the season.
A sacrifice fly by Petraitis in the eighth pushed across another run for Miami, scoring Eaton to stretch the lead to 13-2.
Kent State tacked on one more run in the eighth on an RBI single by Ben Klafczynski to cut the RedHawk lead to 13-3.
A Curl RBI single - his fifth RBI of the day - added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, giving Miami a 14-3 advantage going into the last frame. Redshirt freshman Ryan Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) closed out the ninth to give Miami a much-needed win against a Mid-American Conference foe.
Nadeau led the RedHawks with a 4-for-6, three-RBI performance. Other standouts for Miami included Edgington, who was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, and Curl, who was 3-for-5 with five RBI.
The RedHawks and Golden Flashes meet again Friday at 3 p.m. for game two of the series. Sophomore Tyler Melling (Bellefontaine, Ohio) - 5-2, 5.34 ERA - takes the mound for the RedHawks against Kent State's Kyle Hallock - 2-2, 4.62 ERA.
