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No magical finish as RedHawks fall 3-2 to Bearcats

UC wins Joe Nuxhall Classic but not before Miami pulls within a run in 9th. inning.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 12:43 AM Thursday, April 15, 2010

OXFORD — For a few minutes it looked like Miami University’s baseball team might have a second rabbit tucked away in its magic hat.

“We had that same feeling, that same confidence,” Miami first baseman Kyle Weldon said, “but it’s not always going to be magical.”

Another ninth-inning rally by the RedHawks’ fell just short as the Cincinnati Bearcats held on for a 3-2 victory in the championship game of the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Wednesday night, April 14 at McKie Field.

UC junior shortstop Chris Peters, of Tipp City, was named tourney MVP after going 4-for-9 with two RBIs and three stolen bases in the two games for the Bearcats, who improved to 17-14.

Miami had put together a miraculous rally in the first round on the previous night, scoring eight times in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Xavier 12-11.

“That’s a bonding experience that can bring a team together, and I think it’ll have an effect on the rest of the season,” said Weldon, a native of Mason who went 2-for-4 against the Bearcats.

Miami coach Dan Simonds said “there was a lot of emotion” that carried over from Tuesday’s game. “We were ready and really looking forward to today’s game. It was a well-played college baseball game.”

A run-scoring single by Peters in the first inning, a fourth-inning sacrifice fly from Kevin Johnson and a run-scoring infield single by Justin Riddell in the fifth gave UC a 3-0 lead.

Junior shortstop Ryan Kaup, who had the game-winning single in Miami’s comeback win over Xavier, clubbed his first collegiate home run against UC in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-1.

Miami’s Zac Hatfield led off the ninth by reaching second on an error, went to third on a single by Kaup and scored when Ryan Curl grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Curl advanced to second on a wild pitch with Adam Eaton, Miami’s leading hitter at the plate. UC closer Andrew Burkett walked Eaton intentionally and got Jon Edgington on a grounder to end the game.

Jordan Jankowski, Miami’s starting catcher and clean-up batter on Wednesday, and who also is the bullpen closer, left the game in the top of the first inning as a precautionary measure due to tightness in his right arm.

Xavier defeated Wright State 12-3 in the consolation game.

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