DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Miami University freshman Reece Asbury made what appeared to be the perfect pitch in the ninth inning.

The outcome wasn't so perfect.

Akron's Vince Chiera fought off an inside fastball by Asbury and blooped a single to right field to drive in Doug McNulty with the go-ahead run, and the Zips went on to beat the RedHawks 2-1 Thursday night at McKie Field.

"It was a decent pitch," Miami coach Dan Simonds said. "Sometimes it happens. (Asbury) got it exactly where he wanted to get that pitch.

"It was an aluminum-bat hit," Simonds added. "If it had been a wood bat, it would have broken."

Miami starter John Ely had pitched seven superb innings, allowing only one run and four hits while striking out nine before being removed so that he would remain fresh for next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament.

"Reece was throwing really well," Ely said. "He threw a good pitch, and sometimes good pitches get hit."

The RedHawks, meanwhile, managed only four hits off Akron sophomore right-hander Frank Turocy, who came into the game with a not-so-great 6.04 ERA.

"The kid pitched a good game for them, you have to give credit where credit is due," Simonds said of Turocy, who induced 16 groundball outs. "He had us off balance."

Ely, Asbury and Bobby Oberschlake — who relieved Ely and retired the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning — dominated Akron for the most part.

The one exception was McNulty, the Zips' junior first baseman who cracked a solo homer to left off Ely to give Akron a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and whose one-out double off Asbury in the ninth set up Chiera's game-winning hit.

Miami tied the score in the third when sophomore catcher Josh Hula led off with a triple down the right-field line and scored on a groundout by Brandon Hillier.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Zips put some serious pressure on Ely and the RedHawks when Kurt Davidson led off with a single and raced to third when Charlie Lenhard doubled down the right-field line.

But Ely's resolve stiffened and so did the Miami defense.

The junior right-hander struck out the next two batters, after which Chiera lofted a long, foul fly just off the right-field line.

Miami junior Chris Niro, who had pitched a two-hit shutout the night before in a 4-0 victory over Cincinnati, was playing right field. Niro dashed to his left, made the catch a foot in front of the low fence in foul territory and flipped over the fence, holding onto the ball for the final out.

Ely's nine strikeouts gave him 90 for the year, the sixth-highest single-season total in Miami history. As a freshman Ely recorded 108 strikeouts, third on the list. The record is held by Dave Swartzbaugh (120 in 1989).

"I felt really good about the way I threw today," Ely said. "It was one of those days where the fastball, change-up and curve were all working. A win would have been nice, but sometimes they just don't fall in your favor."

The loss dropped the RedHawks' record to 29-22 overall, 14-9 in the MAC. Akron stands 23-22, 8-14 in the MAC.

Miami still can win the MAC East Division title, but only if the RedHawks win their final two games against the Zips and if Kent State loses twice to Buffalo.

Miami and Akron will play again at 5 p.m. today and then close out the series with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.

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