YPSILANTI, Mich. — It has been an up-and-down season for Miami University senior Dan Leonard, who has been the team's designated hitter for most of the spring.

And although he wasn't in the starting lineup of the RedHawks' 8-4 victory over Central Michigan in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, his season is absolutely in an upward trajectory again.

It was Leonard who drove in five runs in Miami's first two games this season, a pair of wins over 22nd-ranked Winthrop.

It was Leonard who went through a 2-for-26 slump from April 1 to May 6.

And it was Leonard who cranked out four hits over the RedHawks' final two regular-season games and then delivered a clutch pinch-hit single to left-center during Miami's four-run rally in the top of the eighth inning Wednesday.

"Dan Leonard came up big for us," Miami coach Dan Simonds said. "He's one of our leaders, and it was good to see him step up."

Leonard, a graduate of Canfield High School about 10 miles outside of Youngstown, had only 46 at-bats in his first three years in Oxford, but this season he has been an efficient run producer with 22 RBIs in 117 at-bats.

Scouts get an eyeful

More than a dozen professional scouts were on hand to watch the pitching match-up between CMU's Josh Collmenter, the MAC pitcher of the year, and Miami's John Ely, who was named to the all-MAC first team.

Neither pitcher was dominating, but Ely definitely came away with the higher grades.

The Miami hurler worked seven innings and allowed three earned runs while scattering eight hits. He struck out six, walked only one and picked up his ninth victory.

"He really kept us in the game," Simonds said of Ely. "I thought he pitched terrific. We had to take him out because he was high in his pitch count."

Ely said he felt fortunate to come out on top against Collmenter, who started the game with a 1.49 ERA.

"He's a stud," Ely said of the Chippewas' 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior. "He goes out there and competes every time and we were fortunate to be able to beat one of the best pitchers in the MAC and in the nation."

Tough day for Tyler

On Wednesday morning Central Michigan junior catcher Tyler Stovall was named MAC player of the year. He came into the game hitting .409 with 56 RBIs, so it's no wonder.

The rest of his day went downhill fast.

Stovall grounded into a double play in the first inning, almost grounded into another double play in the third but barely beat the throw to first, struck out in the sixth, grounded out in the eighth and flew out to end the game in the ninth, finishing 0-for-5.

Defense to the rescue

The RedHawks rank 22nd in the nation in defense, and against Central Michigan they showed why.

Miami turned double plays in the first and fifth innings, and in the second inning, with a runner on third, junior second baseman Evan Armitage saved a run when he made a diving stop of Noah Lankford's grounder up the middle and made a strong throw to first for the final out.

No dirt to dig

Earlier this season Eastern Michigan installed an artificial turf called ProGrass over every inch of its infield. Even the pitcher's mound, home plate and base paths are covered with it, only those parts have been colored brown. The rest of the infield turf is green. The only dirt inside Oestrike Field is on the warning track around the fence.

If pitchers or batters want to dig in, well, too bad.

"It's tough to get a constant grip (with your feet)," Ely noted.

"It's different," Miami catcher Josh Hula said. "You don't have any bad hops ... but (batting) was a little bit of an adjustment. You can't dig in."

Other first-round games

• Second-seeded Kent State advanced to today's 4 p.m. contest against Miami by beating fifth-seeded Northern Illinois 7-3. The Golden Flashes took control with five runs in the fifth inning and were led by senior catcher Will Vazquez, 3-for-4 with a double, and sophomore outfielder Jason Patton, 2-for-4 with a home run and double.

• Top-seeded Eastern Michigan defeated sixth-seeded Toledo 6-5 in Wednesday's final game. The Eagles were propelled by home runs from Kyle Rhoad, Jeff Hehr and Derek Lehrman.