RedHawks Host Chippewas in MAC Home Opener
3/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Miami RedHawks (4-16, 2-1 MAC)
Games 21-23 | March 27-29
McKie Field at Hayden Park
ON TAP: The RedHawks (4-16, 2-1 MAC) host Central Michigan (15-10, 2-1 MAC) in the team’s Mid-American Conference home opener.
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (15-10, 2-1 MAC): So far this season, CMU iis off to a pretty strong start. Last weekend, they earned a series win over the Bobcats of Ohio. Their leading hitter is junior Logan Regnier. He is hitting .333 with ten extra base hits and 19 runs batted in. Last season, the Chippewas finished second in MAC West play, going 19-8 in conference action. They finished 35-12 overall.
SERIES HISTORY: The RedHawks are 43-63 all-time against the Chippewas. The two teams last met in last year’s MAC Tournament. The RedHawks defeated CMU, 4-3 in their second game of the tournament. During the 2014 regular season, the Chippewas swept the RedHawks in Mount Pleasant.
LAST WEEKEND: The RedHawks traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference action. After a slow start to the season, the team jumped out to a 2-1 record in the MAC, earning an 8-5 victory Friday and a 3-2 extra innings victory on Saturday. The Broncos of WMU got redemption Sunday, capturing the series finale 9-5.
On Tuesday, the RedHawks played Wright State in the first of four meetings against the Raiders. WSU downed the RedHawks, 7-3.
Friday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Ryan Powers (RHP) | 2-4 | 5..24 | 6-6 | 34.1 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 23 |
| CMU | Nick Deeg (LHP) | 3-2 | 2.50 | 6-6 | 36.0 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 21 |
Saturday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Jacob Banks (RHP) | 1-4 | 3.25 | 6-6 | 36.0 | 27 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 27 |
| CMU | Adam Aldred (LHP) | 1-1 | 3.95 | 6-5 | 27.1 | 34 | 21 | 12 | 18 | 16 |
Sunday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Nathan Williams (RHP) | 0-2 | 10.05 | 5-3 | 14.1 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 17 |
| CMU | Jason Gamble (RHP) | 3-1 | 1.91 | 7-4 | 33.0 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
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. So far this season, Powers has a 2-4 record with a 5.79 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .197 against him. On February 20th, Powers started against USC Upstate and pitched six scoreless innings, allowing no hits and struck out a career-high eight Spartan batters. In six starts this season, he has allowed a total of just 23 hits.
SADA’S SUCCESS: Steve Sada had a freshman year to remember last season and the second-year player is 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. So far this season, Sada is hitting .244 with seven runs, six runs batted in and three stolen bases. He has also had six multi-hit efforts.
HONCHEL RISING: Honchel has moved up the career batting average list and currently sits at sixth all-time with a .358 average. In addition, he enters the weekend two hits shy of tying Brandon Hillier (’04-’07) for fourth all-time in career hits at Miami (259). This season, Honchel is off to a hot start, boasting a .421 batting average with eight doubles, 11 runs and seven runs batted in. In addition, he leads the RedHawks with ten multi-hit games and has reached base safely in all 20 games this season. He has gotten at least one hit in 17 of 20 games this season.
SOLID SEDIO: Chad Sedio has become a staple for the Miami baseball team at shortstop. The junior is hitting .320 and has a .407 on-base percentage. He is a career .306 hitter and has been a solid piece of the lineup during his time at Miami. He has reached base safely in 18 straight games and has nine multi-hit games. He also leads the team with 15 runs scored.
CATCHING UP: Senior catcher Max Andresen started the season rather slow, earning just two hits in his first nine appearances. This past weekend at Western Michigan, he hit .455 and recorded five RBIs. While he has started slow, Andresen is a career .270 hitter and will surely be a key cog moving forward this season.
