RedHawks Fall to Musketeers, 11-6
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The RedHawks (6-27, 4-8 MAC) fell to Xavier, 11-6 Wednesday in the Joe Nuxhall Classic consolation game. The Musketeers jumped on the Red & White early and often, scoring the game’s first eight runs.
The Musketeers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, Ethan Schmidt scorched a double to deep center field, clearing the bases and scoring three runs. Later in the inning, Patrick Jones doubled down the left field line, scoring two more runs. A Will LaRue triple the next at bat plated the Musketeers’ sixth run of the inning.
Xavier extended their lead in the bottom of the third. A sac fly by Jones and a single by David Morton earned the Musketeers two more runs, extending their lead to 8-0.
Miami got on the board in the top of the fourth. A Scott Slappey single scored Spencer Dull from third, cutting the Musketeer lead to, 8-1. The RedHawks got another in the top of the fifth. After a two-out triple by Adam Yacek, Kendall Johnson hit a high chopper that made it into the outfield, easily scoring Yacek. The Xavier lead was minimized to 8-2.
The Musketeers came storming back in the bottom of the sixth. A LaRue double, a Morton triple and a Schmidt single plated three runs for Xavier, pushing their lead to 11-3.
In the top of the sixth, for the third inning in a row, the RedHawks pushed across a run. With two outs, Jake Romano hit a blooper to shallow center and the Xavier center fielder nearly made a spectacular play, however he could not make the catch and Romano was off to the races, earning himself an inside-the-park home run. Through five and half innings played, the Musketeers were holding on to an 11-3 lead.
The RedHawks kept chipping away, scoring more runs in the top of the eighth. A Jacob Wolf groundout allowed Johnson to score from third. Then, the RedHawks loaded the bases as Slappey and Romano earned back-to-back singles, followed by Ryan Elble getting hit by a pitch. Steve Sada singled, scoring Slappey and Romano. The Xavier lead was cut to 11-6.
The RedHawks got a leadoff double from Yacek in the top of the ninth, but could not bring him around to score. Clay Cinnamon (0-3) took the loss for Miami.
The RedHawks return to the diamond Friday as they begin a three-game conference series at Akron. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
