MU Opens Season at Mississippi State Classic
2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Games 1-2 | Mississippi State Classic | Starkville, Miss.
Game 1 – Friday, Feb. 13 – CINCINNATI (12 p.m. CT)
ABOUT CINCINNATI: The Bearcats are coming off a down year, posting a 22-31 record. In conference play, they registered a 6-18 mark which placed them last in the American Athletic Conference. They will be led by Ian Happ. The junior was tabbed to the 2015 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Third Team.
SERIES HISTORY: Miami is 100-64 all-time against the Bearcats. However, Cincinnati has stolen the last two games against the RedHawks. In a one-game series last season, The Bearcats rallied in the 9th inning to grab an 8-7 win. Later on in the year the two teams met again, this time at the Joe Nuxhall Classic title game. Cincinnati’s Grant Walker posted a complete game, sealing a 7-4 victory for the Bearcats.
Game 2 – Saturday, Feb. 14 – MISSISSIPPI STATE (12 p.m. CT)
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE: The Bulldogs are coming off a successful season having posted a 39-24 record. In Southeastern Conference play, they went 18-12, good enough for third place in the SEC West. In the SEC tournament, the Bulldogs won their first two games before losing their next two, the last of which came to eventual runner-up Florida. Despite the loss to the Gators in the SEC tournament, the Bulldogs’ resume proved quality enough to go to Regionals. At the Lafayette Regional, they won their first two games before losing to eventual Regional Champions Louisiana-Lafayette.
SERIES HISTORY: The RedHawks and Bulldogs have only met once before, back on Miami’s opening day in 1974. The Red & White claimed the victory by a score of 6-3.
WATCH: Miami at Mississippi State (SEC Network +)
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday vs. Cincinnati
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Jacob Banks (So. RHP) | 2-0 | 5.04 | 23-0 | 30.1 | 31 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 32 |
| Cincinnati | Andrew Zellner (So. RHP) | 4-4 | 6.44 | 13-10 | 50.1 | 59 | 45 | 36 | 21 | 21 |
Saturday vs. Mississippi State
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Ryan Powers (Sr. RHP) | 9-3 | 4.25 | 16-13 | 84.2 | 85 | 44 | 40 | 35 | 60 |
| Mississippi St. | Lucas Laster (So. LHP) | 0-1 | 2.60 | 9-4 | 34.2 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
POWER UP: Senior Ryan Powers looks to continue his stride after his breakout season during the 2014 campaign. The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher appeared in 16 games, starting 13. He finished with a 9-3 record and a 4.25 ERA on the way to claiming Second-Team All-MAC Honors. As if that wasn’t enough, Powers was one of two RedHawks who had his name called in the 2014 MLB Draft. The righty was selected in the 22nd round (652 overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies.
SADA’S SUCCESS: Steve Sada certainly had a freshman year to remember last season and the second-year player will look to be slotted in as the team’s starting second baseman once again. Sada hit .309 while recording a .391 on-base percentage and drew a team-best 24 walks. Like Powers, Sada earned Second-Team All-MAC honors. In addition, he was tabbed a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
HONCHEL RISING: Senior Matt Honchel enters the season tenth all-time in career hits at Miami (225). Honchel is one back of tying Geoff Orr for ninth all-time. He’s just 12 hits shy of tying Associate Head Coach Jeremy Ison for fifth all-time. Clark Mace is at the top of the list with 316 career hits.
STEP ON UP: After some injury problems last season, senior Kendall Johnson is scheduled to be the team’s new first baseman. Hayden loves his defensive game and believes he will be a key asset to the team this season. “I’m looking forward to see what Kendall Johnson can do from the first base position, to see if he can hold his own,” said Hayden. “He had a really nice fall, especially towards the end. He’s tremendous defensively. We want to try to make it work with him over there and we’re confident he’s going to do a good job.”
CHANGING THE TIDE: The RedHawks have lost their last seven season openers. Their last season-opening win came on February 23rd, 2007 when they defeated Winthrop 6-5.
