Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University
No. 3 Toledo
RedHawks Fall to Toledo in MAC Tournament Opener
5/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2010
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The sixth-seeded Miami University baseball team had opportunities early in Wednesday's Mid-American Conference Tournament opener against No. 3 Toledo to take a big lead, but the Rockets were able to hold the RedHawks to just a run and went on to defeat Miami, 7-1, at VA Memorial Stadium. The RedHawks (28-27) now face an elimination game Thursday while Toledo (34-20) remains in the winner's bracket and will play Thursday evening.
The Rockets out-hit Miami, 15-5, with four of the RedHawks' hits coming in the first two innings. Junior right fielder Adam Eaton (Springfield, Ohio) stretched his hit streak to a career-long 22 games on a triple to start the contest, which gave him nine for the year, braking Miami's single-season three-baggers record and tying the MAC's single-season record. Junior shortstop Ryan Kaup (Chandler, Ariz.) notched a double and scored the Red and White's lone run. Right fielder Dan Sherwood led the Rockets with three hits and a pair of RBI while second baseman Tim Krofcheck and designated hitter Matt Delewski both had a pair of hits and RBI each.
Freshman starter Mac Thoreson (Knoxville, Tenn.) took the loss (5-6), giving up five runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings while Toledo starter Matt Suschak (5-1) earned the win, allowing a run on five hits in 6.1 frames with six strikeouts and four walks.
Miami looked to jump ahead in the first inning, as Eaton led off with his record-breaking triple down the right-field line, but was thrown out at home attempting to score on a flyout. The RedHawks did strike in the second inning, as they loaded the bases with no outs, but managed just a run as Kaup scampered home when Toledo's second baseman couldn't haul in a soft liner off the bat of junior third baseman Brad Gschwind (Cincinnati, Ohio).
The Rockets answered in the bottom of the third with a two-run blast to left field from Krofcheck, putting UT up a run. An RBI single up the middle by Sherwood later in the frame upped Toledo's lead to 3-1 while an RBI groundout in the fourth bumped the Rockets' advantage to three.
A pair of Toledo doubles in the fifth frame plated another run, as Sherwood collected the RBI with a two-bagger off the wall in center. Miami had men on first and third with one out in the sixth but a double play thwarted the threat. The 'Hawks then loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning, but Rocket reliever Kyle Shaw induced a ground ball to keep UT on top, 5-1.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Delewski slapped a single through the left side that deflected off the glove of a diving Gschwind, pushing two more runs across home for Toledo. Miami went down in order in the ninth, as Shaw and the Rockets closed out the 7-1 win.
With the loss, the RedHawks fall into loser's bracket of the MAC Tournament and will face No. 2 Kent State, who fell to No. 7 Eastern Michigan Wednesday, in an elimination game, which will start at 9 a.m. on Thursday at VA Memorial Stadium.
--MURedHawks.com--
