Miami Hosts Fourth Annual Joe Nuxhall Classic
4/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 10, 2012
OXFORD, Ohio -- Local college baseball takes center stage this week when Miami hosts the Fourth Annual Joe Nuxhall Classic April 10-11. The RedHawks face Xavier in the first round Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while Cincinnati and Wright State collide in the 3 p.m. opener.
Wednesday's action features the winners in the championship game and the losers playing for third-place. Miami will play the late game regardless of the Tuesday outcomes.
The RedHawks (16-15) snapped a three-game losing streak on Sunday with a 9-5 victory over Ball State. Wright State enters the tournament with the best overall record of all the teams, 19-11. Xavier stands 13-18 while Cincinnati is 11-19.
Miami has a team batting average of .305 with eight players overall hitting above the .300 mark. Freshman Matt Honchel holds the top spot at .415, ranking 30th nationally this week. He leads the team in multiple-hit games with 14 and has had nine- and eight-game hitting streaks.
Junior catcher Nate Bowles is third in hitting at .353, while sophomore John Crummy has also been outstanding behind the plate and at it, standing fourth on the team in average (.351) and second in runs batted in (26). Kevin Bower also hits .351, while driving in a team-best 32 runs.
Sophomore Charles Zubrod gains his fifth straight mid-week start on Tuesday. He has been a victim of bad luck enroute to a 1-3 record, but holds a 3.30 ERA over 30 innings. Opponents are hitting just .257 against Zubrod.
Miami's starter for Wednesday is still to be determined, based on the opponent and any bullpen use in the opener.
