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Eaton’s sophomore surge leads RedHawks

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 12:32 AM Wednesday, May 20, 2009

OXFORD — Adam Eaton has turned into the perfect leadoff hitter for the Miami University baseball team and a big reason the RedHawks are back in the Mid-American Conference tournament for the first time since 2007.

The difference between Eaton as a freshman who batted .294 with no home runs and eight stolen bases and Eaton as a sophomore who is batting .357 with 10 home runs and 26 steals (in 27 attempts) has been remarkable.

“He’s a special player,” said Miami coach Dan Simonds, whose team opens tournament play today, May 20, against Kent State at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. “He has progressed mentally and he’s gotten stronger. He has come into his own.”

Chalk it up to hard work.

“I really worked with the coaches during the offseason,” said the sophomore right fielder, a graduate of Springfield Kenton Ridge High School. “I never really played as seriously year-round as I have in college.”

In high school, he noted, you play baseball for about six months and then do other things for six months.

That changed when Eaton arrived in Oxford.

“I narrowed down what I needed to work on,” he said. “With hitting, I worked on staying back, keeping my hands back, not trying to do too much. Trying to hit the ball the other way.

“High school pitching and college pitching is a lot different,” he noted. “With high school pitching you see a lot more mistakes. College pitchers know how to attack you.”

He also has learned how to steal, and perhaps more importantly, when to steal a base.

“Honestly, that’s a really big thing I’ve worked on, when to run,” said Eaton, who had not been caught stealing this year until the regular-season finale against Kent State. “There is a lot more to stealing bases than meets the eye. I used to just try to get a good jump and run.”

He has plenty of opportunities to run. Eaton has an on-base percentage of .472 and has reached base in all but two games this season.

Eaton also leads the RedHawks in runs scored (60) and triples (six), is second in RBIs (44), total bases (124), slugging percentage (.623) and walks (24), and is third in homers.

“I’d never been a home run hitter,” Eaton said. “When I came to Miami I squatted for the first time in the weight room. Putting on weight, learning how to hit, it all sort of fell into place.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

Adam Eaton

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