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COLLEGE BASEBALL MIAMI 5, AKRON 4
Sweet and sour day for RedHawks as they grab win vs. Zips
Miami gets the victory, but Kent State clinches MAC East Division with a 2-1 win over Buffalo.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
OXFORD — Dan Simonds took a deep breath. "We needed that one, we really did," the Miami University baseball coach said.
The RedHawks had just rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the sixth inning to beat the Akron Zips 5-4 on Friday evening at McKie Field thanks in part to a two-run, pinch-hit single by Eric Darlage and strong relief pitching by Matt Erwood, Reece Asbury, Bobby Oberschlake and Bailey Pratt.
Extras
"There was a little of a down feeling after the loss yesterday, and we woke up a little bit with that three-spot in the sixth inning," Simonds said, referring to the first three runs scored by Miami.
"Now we want to get things rolling and get to playing solid baseball before the (Mid-American Conference) tournament and not just check in."
Earlier in the game, it had been announced that Kent State had beaten Buffalo 2-1 in 11 innings, which meant the Golden Flashes had clinched the MAC East Division title, the No. 2 seed to the MAC Tournament and a first-round bye.
The RedHawks will have to settle for the No. 4 or 5 seed when they open tournament play next Wednesday at either Eastern Michigan or Central Michigan, but they did clinch their 10th consecutive 30-win season. The victory boosted Miami's record to 30-22 overall and 15-9 in the MAC.
Miami completed its comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning, and it started almost by accident — when Chris Nadeau got hit by a pitch from Akron senior starter Billy McKinney.
Ben Eubank went into the game as a pinch runner and soon found himself on third base after Blake Chaffee ripped a double down the left-field line.
McKinney was relieved by side-armed pitcher Ryne Romick, who faced Darlage and threw a pitch out over the plate. Darlage cracked the ball up the middle for two runs and a 5-4 lead.
"I haven't been hitting the best," Darlage said. "I've been a little off. ... It feels good to come into the game and get a clutch hit for your team."
"Eric's been working hard and hasn't had a lot to show for it the last couple games," Simonds said. "He had a great at-bat."
Miami starter Connor Graham pitched well, allowing one earned run over five innings, but his throwing error led to Akron's first run in the second inning.
An inning later, Scott Gunn smacked a solo homer down the right-field line, and Kevin Haas lined a two-run single off Miami reliever Brandon Meister in the sixth inning, making it 4-0.
After that, Miami's relief pitching dominated. Erwood tossed two hitless innings, striking out three.
Asbury, the losing pitcher in Thursday's 2-1 loss, picked a runner off first and ended an Akron eighth-inning threat with a strikeout. Oberschlake retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning, and Pratt got the final out for his fifth save.
The RedHawks began their comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning with a pair of run-scoring singles by Dan Leonard and Nadeau. Later in the inning, McKinney plunked Josh Hula with the bases loaded, making it 4-3.
Another standout for the RedHawks was third baseman Chaffee, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Leonard finished 2-for-4.
Doug McNulty and John Turk each collected two hits for the Zips (23-23, 8-15 MAC).
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
