The great Yogi Berra once said "A full mind is an empty bat."

The Miami University baseball team (23-18) will look to listen to Berra and forget about last weekend's failed opportunity to gain ground in the MAC when they head north to face off against the University of Akron Zips (14-28) Friday. The Red and White are on a roll again, currently sitting on a three-game win streak.

The 'Hawks have been a consistently streaky team this year. All 23 of their wins have come in streaks of two or more, and all but three of their losses hold the same characteristic. Their longest losing streak this season was five games, starting March 17.

The longest winning streak amassed this year was four games, happening twice, once last month and again two weeks ago. Miami sits just two games out of first place heading into the vital matchup that holds post-season implications.

"This is what we've worked for the first half of the season," senior Tommy Nurre said. "It's to really give everything we have the last four or five weeks in MAC play. That will determine our seeding for the tournament, which would mentally decide if we would get a good draw to win the MAC championship or not. Last weekend was disappointing, but we are looking forward to moving on and playing this weekend against Akron."

Nurre, a two-time MAC player of the week this year, has certainly done his job to help the RedHawk cause. The senior has raked for a .379 average this year and has nine home runs, both good for second on the team.

Sophomore Adam Eaton has been a picture of consistency to go along with Nurre. Eaton leads the team in eight offensive categories including total bases (104) and steals (20).

The blazing Eaton should have a field day on the base paths on Akron catcher John Turk who has allowed the second most stolen bases in the conference (44). The Zips are led offensively by Matt Roberts. If the 'Hawks want to win this weekend, keeping Roberts and his stick off the basepaths will be key. He is second on the team with a .354 average, hits (58) and first in runs scored (41).

In the past month the Red and White have been jumpstarted by the electric freshman Ryan Curl. He is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak and is hitting .410 during that stretch. Head coach Dan Simonds has enjoyed offensive success from nearly every part of the lineup but knows champions are made game by game.

"They are all important now, to be completely honest," Simonds said. "They are very important. We've got to continue to play solid baseball. The chemistry of our team right now and the way we approaching games; each game is very big. We're just going to take a game at a time, not even a series, just a game at a time. So, it's a very important series. If we are going to take this thing, and we are still in a position to do that, we are going to have to show that we can do it on the road. That takes a certain amount of mental toughness and the ability to take the way we've played at home and take that on the road."

Simonds is right on the mark and the statistics don't lie. This year his Miami squad is similar to Jekyll and Hyde, depending on the setting. At home his 'Hawks are 8-2, when they are away they are 7-13, and at neutral sites they are 7-3. The remedy for this inconsistency will be to play fundamental baseball. The Red and White need to execute and do the little things right in order to seize the opportunity given to them this weekend and climb up the MAC East standings.

The RedHawks will look to improve on that road record when they battle the University of Akron Zips at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. After battling the Zips, the 'Hawks will host the second place Ohio University Bobcats (22-16) in one of the most important series of the year.