Game 51-53
Miami RedHawks (36-14, 15-8 MAC) at Central Michigan Chippewas (40-12, 19-5 MAC)
Thursday, May 16 – 3 p.m.
Friday, May 17 – 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 – 1 p.m. 
Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium – Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

ON TAP
The Miami University baseball team concludes the regular season with a challenging three game set at current Mid-American Conference leader Central Michigan. The games on Thursday and Friday will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday's finale will start at 1 p.m.

MAC RACE
Five of the six spots in the upcoming MAC Tournament have been clinched going into the final weekend of the regular season. The top two finishers in the league get first round byes in the double elimination tournament, which takes place May 22-26 at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. CMU has secured one of those spots, and is the current conference leader at 19-5. Ball State is second at 17-5, while Miami is third at 15-8. In order to finish second and get one of the byes, the RedHawks would have to sweep the Chippewas this weekend, while the Cardinals would have to be swept at home by Toledo. Kent State is currently fourth in the MAC standings and right on Miami's tail at 14-8. Northern Illinois has clinched a berth and is fifth at 13-11. It will come down to Western Michigan (10-12) and Ohio (10-13) for the final spot in the tournament. The Broncos and Bobcats play a three-game series in Kalamazoo this week. The winner of that series will earn that spot.

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan has had an incredible season as it is 40-12 overall and 19-5 in the MAC. It has won its last 12 games in a row, including a three-game sweep of Eastern Michigan last weekend. It then went on to defeat Michigan State, 10-2, in its midweek game on Tuesday. The Chippewas have won a lot of games with their offense, they rank fourth in the nation with 441 runs scored on the season. Their 8.5 runs per game average ranks fifth. Three different CMU players have 50 or more RBIs on the season. Sophomore Griffin Lockwood-Powell is hitting .337 with 10 home runs and 62 RBIs, while sophomore Zavier Warren is hitting .366 with seven home runs and 62 RBIs. Senior Jacob Crum is hitting .337 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs. The Chippewas have two strong starting pitchers as well. Their Thursday starter is senior right hander Pat Leatherman. He is 8-1 with a 2.36 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched this season. Friday's starter is junior right hander Cameron Brown. He is 9-0 with a 2.85 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 82.0 innings pitched.

SERIES WITH CENTRAL MICHIGAN          
Central Michigan holds a 73-48 lead in the all-time series with Miami. Last season, the RedHawks won three out of four games against the Chippewas. The teams met for a three-game series May 11-13, 2018 in Oxford. After CMU won the opener, 6-2, Miami took the Saturday game, 4-2, and the Sunday rubber match, 13-8. The teams faced off again in the MAC Tournament on May 26, 2018. The Red and White scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-2 lead. However, the Chippewas answered right back with six of their own in the top of the fifth to take an 8-7 advantage. Miami scored two in the bottom of the inning to make it 9-8. It then held Central Michigan scoreless over the next four innings to earn the win.

UP AHEAD
The Mid-American Conference Tournament begins next Wednesday at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The top six teams will compete in the double elimination event. The full schedule, including when Miami will be in action will be released at the conclusion of regular season play this weekend.