Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawks Prepare For Buckeyes and Rockets
5/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Follow: @MiamiOHBaseball | @MiamiRedHawks
Miami RedHawks (11-34, 9-12 MAC)
Games 46-49 | May 5, 8-10
Tuesday, May 5 | vs. Ohio State | Oxford, Ohio | 6 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, May 8-10 | at Toledo | Toledo, Ohio | 3:05/1:05/1:05 p.m.
ON TAP: The RedHawks are set to host Ohio State on Tuesday. That will be the team’s last midweek game of the season. The Red & White will then travel to Toledo for the weekend to play their last road regular season conference series.
AROUND THE HORN
• Senior Matt Honchel has reached base in 41 of 43 games played. He also leads the team with 27 RBI.
• In Miami’s two wins this past weekend against Eastern Michigan, the RedHawks scored a combined 30 runs. On the weekend, they outscored the Eagles, 31-14.
• Four RedHawks homered this past week, with one of them doing it twice. Three of them came during MAC play and one of them was a grand slam.
• Sophomore Adam Yacek and senior Ryan Elble lead the team with five home runs each.
• Junior Jake Romano scored ten runs last week, extending his team-leading season total to 37. Romano had a double and two triples in Miami’s 17-6 win on Saturday.
SCOUTING REPORT
ABOUT OHIO STATE 31-13, 12-6 B1G): The Buckeyes are coming off a weekend in which they were swept by a top-10 Illinois team. They were outscored, 20-8 in the series. However, the Buckeyes have put together a really nice season as they have been, as of late, ranked nationally. They are led by Pat Porter, who is hitting .315 on the year and has a team-high 34 RBI and six home runs.
SERIES HISTORY: The RedHawks trail the all-time series, 15-28. The two teams last met a year ago in May, a 3-1 Miami victory.
ABOUT TOLEDO (20-28, 12-9 MAC): Toledo enters the week after earning a series win against Ohio, taking two of three on the road. The Rockets are led my AJ Montoya, who is hitting a team-best .301 on the year to go along with 26 runs and 32 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY: The RedHawks are 89-59 all-time against the Rockets. The two teams last met in April of last year. The RedHawks earned a series win, taking the first and last games of the series.
GAME NOTES
LAST WEEKEND: The RedHawks went 2-3 on the week, dropping two to Eastern Kentucky in their team’s midweek series. However, the team rebounded to earn their first home series win of the season, taking two of three from Eastern Michigan, inlcuding two wins which saw the Miami offense combine for 30 runs in the final two games of the series.
HONCHEL RISING: Senior Matt Honchel has moved up the career batting average list and currently sits at sixth all-time with a .355 average. Recently, he moved into sole possession of third all-time in Miami history in career hits and currently sits at 284. He is five shy of tying second all-time. This season, Honchel has been a key piece of the Miami offense this, boasting a .373 batting average with 12 doubles, one triple, 23 runs, 27 runs batted in and two home runs. In addition, he leads the team lead with 17 multi-hit games and has reached base safely in 41 of 43 games this season. He has earned at least one hit in 33 of those games.
A WELCOMED ADDITION: Senior Will Schierholz has been a key piece of the Miami bullpen this season. The first-year transfer leads all RedHawk pitchers in appearances (27) and saves (5). In his last seven appearances, he has tossed 18.1 innings, allowing just four runs. Over that span, he has posted a 1.96 ERA. In the team’s series finale at Akron, he tossed six and a third innings of relief (105 pitches), allowed just one run and got the win in Miami’s 8-7 extra innings victory.
YACEK GETTING IT DONE: While he did appear sporadically at the beginning of the season, sophomore Adam Yacek has become a regular in the Miami lineup of late. His .321 batting average ranks him third-best on the team, while his .543 slugging percentage is the second-highest on the team. His five home runs is tied for the team lead.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: The Miami offense combined for 30 runs in the team’s Saturday and Sunday victories against EMU. The last time a Miami team scored that many runs over a two-game period was in 2009. The Red & White scored a combined 33 runs in the first two games of a series against Buffalo that year. During that weekend, the RedHawks put up 44 runs on the Bulls on their way to a series sweep.
MAC PRESEASON PICKS (Coaches Poll)
EAST DIVISION
1. Kent State - 68 (8 first place)
2. Miami - 59 (3 first place)
3. Akron - 41
4. Bowling Green - 38 (1 first place)
5. Buffalo - 27
6. Ohio - 19
WEST DIVISION
1. Ball State - 67 (8 first place)
2. Central Michigan - 55 (2 first place)
3. Western Michigan - 46 (1 first place)
4. Toledo - 43 (1 first place)
5. Eastern Michigan - 23
6. Northern Illinois - 18
Tournament Champion Votes:
Kent State (3), Miami (2), Central Michigan (2), Ball State (2), Bowling Green (1), Toledo (1) and Western Michigan (1)
