March 20, 2012

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Five Miami pitchers surrended 12 hits and hit eight batters, helping Xavier to an 8-3 win over Miami Tuesday afternoon at Hayden Park. Matt Honchel was 2-for-4 for the RedHawks, while seven other players each had a hit during the contest.

Miami (11-9) parlayed three straight hits in the first -- all with two outs -- to take a 1-0 lead. Bryce Redeker singled past third before Kevin Bower put runners on the corners by stroking a single to right. Jacob Wolf hit the first pitch he saw into left field.

Xavier took a 2-1 lead with one swing of the bat in the second. A leadoff double was followed one out later by a Brian Bruening home run to right. But Miami answered right back in the third to tie the game at 2. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Redeker and Bower. After a force out at third and wild pitch put runners on second and third, John Crummy grounded out behind second to even the game.

The Musketeers took the lead for good with a run in the third. With one out, Miami starter and loser Charles Zubrod (1-1) hit a pair of batters. The lead runner stole third and came home on an infield hit. A leadoff walk in the fourth led to two runs and a 5-2 advantage. After a strikeout, reliever Seth Varner hit a batter to put runners on first and second. The next batter bounced to short, but when Ryan Brenner tried for the double play, his throw was wide, leading to a run. The next batter doubled to make the score 5-2.

Xavier took advantage of two hit batters, an error and a single to add two in the sixth and a wild pitch in the seventh to go up 8-2. Miami gained a run back in the ninth on Brenner's bloop single to center that scored Matt Honchel.

Freshman reliever Adam Hall earned his first career win for Xavier, retiring 14 straight before leaving after the eighth. He allowed only one hit in his five innings of work.

The two teams meet again tomorrow at McKie Field in Oxford. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.