Miami University
Ohio
RedHawks Pound Out 13-5 Win Against Bobcats
5/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2009
OXFORD, Ohio - Miami University's baseball team got on the board first and never looked back, collecting a 13-5 win over the Ohio University Bobcats in the first game of a key Mid-American Conference weekend series.
Miami moves to 26-19 overall and 14-8 in MAC action, while the Bobcats drop to 23-20 overall and 13-9 in league play. With the win and a Kent State loss on Friday, the RedHawks are now only a half game out of first place in the MAC East Division.
A three-run first inning got Miami off to a solid start in the first game of the three-game weekend series against the Bobcats. With bases loaded, Ohio walked senior first baseman Tommy Nurre, which sent sophomore right fielder Adam Eaton home for Miami's first run of the game. Sophomore catcher Adam Weisenburger singled up the middle then plated senior left fielder Chris Nadeau and senior third baseman Jordan Petraitis to give Miami the 3-0 lead.
Ohio's Brandon Besl hit a two-run home run over the leftfield fence in the top of the fourth inning, also scoring Hayden Johnston, to cut the Miami lead to one, 3-2.
The RedHawks, however, quickly regained their three-run cushion in the bottom of the fourth when freshman center fielder Ryan Curl drilled a two-run homer over the leftfield fence to also plate sophomore second baseman Jon Edgington, pushing Miami's lead to 5-2.
Miami tacked on three more runs off a pair of homers in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Eaton nailed a solo home run over the rightfield fence. Petraitis singled to get on base before Nadeau stepped to the plate and hammered another home run over the rightfield fence to extend the RedHawk lead to 8-2.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Miami added five more runs to its tally. Junior designated hitter Zak Hatfield nailed a lead-off home run over the rightfield fence. With bases loaded, Eaton and Petraitis were hit by pitches in respective at-bats, allowing Weisenburger and sophomore shortstop Brad Gschwind to score. Nadeau then hit a two-run single down the leftfield line, plating Eaton and Edgington to further the RedHawk lead to 13-2.
Ohio's Jerod Yakubik hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, also plating Besl to put the score at 13-4 in favor of the RedHawks. Besl belted his second home run of the game in the top of the ninth inning to give Ohio its fifth run of the game to eventually make the final score 13-5. He led the Bobcats at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI.
Three RedHawks had multiple-hit games, led by Nadeau's 3-for-4 performance. He also had four RBI and two runs in the winning effort. Erwood picked up the win on the mound for the RedHawks, improving to 6-2 on the season. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up two runs and four hits.
Rigo suffered the loss for the Bobcats, dropping to 5-4 on the season, although he recorded a career-high nine strikeouts.
The series continues at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 9.
