 "Photo:")
The bullpen was emptied Tuesday night as the Miami University men's baseball team fell to the Wright State University Raiders (7-11) 6-3 in non-conference action. The Red and White (8-6) used eight different pitchers, but it was not enough to extend their three game winning streak.
The ingredients of this recipe for disaster included three untimely errors, mental miscues and base running blunders. Looking back on the game, head coach Dan Simonds cited the importance of hustle.
"The effort and attitude was just very average tonight," Simonds said. "I would have liked a little bit better result tonight but it just didn't happen. A couple of guys in our lineup that have been really swinging the bats … we just didn't get much production out of them tonight. I don't think that's going to last. I think they're going to be guys who are going to really get it done."
One of the bats that went cold was that of Zak Hatfield. The slugger tops the team with six long balls but went 0-4 at the plate with four strikeouts. Designated hitter Tommy Nurre also left two on base, which would prove costly later in the game.
"The game was one we were capable of winning," Nurre said. "We needed to cut back on defensive errors and get a few more clutch hits. It was a loss that showed us how we can improve and prepare better for MAC play."
The game was scoreless through three innings until Wright State's Casey McGrew booted a ball hit by Nurre enabling Miami's Jordan Petraitis to come home and put his team up 1-0. The Raiders came roaring back in the bottom of the inning when Quentin Cate turned on a pitch thrown by Miami's John Greene and put it over the left field fence to take the lead for the Raiders. After the fourth inning, Miami trailed 3-1.
The Red and White showed a flicker of light in the fifth inning. Center fielder Ryan Curl laid down the lumber, sending a pitch to the right field wall of Nischwitz Stadium for a double. Right fielder Adam Eaton followed up with a single to center, scoring Curl and putting the Red and White within one. The speedy Eaton then snatched second base. Miami sophomore Jon Edgington rounded out the rally by plating Eaton with a single and knotting the game up at 3-3.
Part of the story line was the assortment of pitchers used. Coach Simonds attributed the use of many pitchers to "seeing what we've got."
"We feel like we've got a pretty deep bullpen," Simonds said. "We have been using a lot of guys to get them work especially early in the season. We want to get them out there leading up to conference to get their feet wet a little bit. We are evaluating and seeing what we're going to battle with. We want to see who were going to be using in conference play. We start the MAC this weekend."
The 'Hawks will face off at University of Toledo against the Rockets Friday as part of a three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown at 3 p.m.
