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Miami in a tough spot in MAC tourney
RedHawks must win four games in two days to take conference title.
Friday, May 25, 2007
YPSILANTI, Mich. — Win four games in two days.
That's the challenge facing the Miami University baseball team as it strives to capture the Mid-American Conference Tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Extras
The road to the NCAA became much more difficult Thursday evening when the second-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes edged the RedHawks 4-3 in the second round at Eastern Michigan University's Oestrike Stadium.
Kent State broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth inning when designated Greg Rohan pulled a pitch from reliever Reece Asbury down the left-field line and over the fence, his 11th homer of the season.
So now, in order to make it to the finals, Miami must win back-to-back games today in the loser's bracket.
First, the RedHawks must beat fifth-seeded Northern Illinois in a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Then they must win a 4 p.m. game against the winner between top-seeded Eastern Michigan and second-seeded Kent State.
That would get Miami to Saturday's finals, and the RedHawks would have to win two more games in order to win it all.
"If there is any time to get hot, now is the time," said senior center fielder Brandon Hillier, who had half of Miami's hits Thursday when he went 4-for-4. "We've definitely been in this spot before. It's nothing new."
"We've had our backs against the wall before," Miami coach Dan Simonds said. "We battled hard today, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow. The tournament still is here for the taking."
Two years ago the RedHawks faced the prospect of winning three straight games in two days, and that's exactly what they did. In their first win against Ball State, they got a complete-game performance from Jeff Day, who is scheduled to start Miami's first game today against Northern Illinois.
Doug Sanders went 3-for-4 for the Golden Flashes (31-24) and Jason Patton was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Miami (32-23) was shut out over the final four innings by winning pitcher Reid Lamport, who relieved starter Evan Smith and allowed only one hit and two walks. In addition to Hillier's four hits, Evan Armitage went 2-for-4 with a double, and Jeff Carroll had two RBIs.
