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Copy and paste: baseball RedHawks write same story of dominance

Another three games and another three wins.

Miami baseball traveled to Bowling Green and swept the Falcons (12-19, 5-7 Mid-American) this weekend, giving the RedHawks their fifth sweep in nine series this season. They've won 11 of their last 12 contests and hold a 29-6 (10-2 MAC) record.

The RedHawks breezed through Friday's game 12-4, before pending inclement weather forced Sunday's game to be pushed up to Saturday afternoon and gave Miami its sixth doubleheader of the season.

It won game one 15-2 and game two 10-8.

With the victories, the RedHawks cracked the top 30 teams in the Collegiate Baseball Poll, checking in at No. 28.

Dinger derby

Well, the weather is heating up, folks.

Scientifically-speaking, a baseball travels farther in warmer temperatures than cooler ones, and the RedHawks took advantage of that this weekend.

Homers, nukes, tanks, bombs, dingers, big flies - it doesn't matter what you call home runs. Just know Miami hit a lot of them against the Falcons.

In 35 games, the RedHawks have hit 26 home runs. Five of those came against Bowling Green.

Junior catcher Cal Elvers established a firm affinity for the fences, going yard once in each of the three games. He upped his season home run total to five, claiming sole possession of the team lead in that category. He rests ahead of junior third baseman Landon Stephens and redshirt junior outfielder Kyle Winkler, who each have four.

Winkler and sophomore right fielder Parker Massman were the two other RedHawks to join Elvers in the long-ball barrage, as each hit one home run.

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Miami continued its season-long offensive explosion by combining for 37 runs this weekend. The RedHawks have averaged more than eight runs per game in 2019. They put up an average of 5.5 last season.

Spencer Mraz flirts with a no-hitter

Through seven innings of Saturday's first game, junior starter Spencer Mraz proved to be literally unhittable.

The only two baserunners he allowed had reached on walks, and he had already struck out 12 Falcon batters.

After returning to the mound to pitch the eighth inning, Mraz surrendered a leadoff double to shortstop Neil Lambert to end the no-hit bid. It was Bowling Green's only hit of the game.

Mraz allowed a walk before striking out his 13th victim of the afternoon. Sophomore reliever Logan Schmitt then came on to end Mraz's day of work.

Though Mraz left two runners on base for Schmitt, leading to two earned runs later in the inning, he had fallen just six outs short of Miami's first no-hitter since 1980.

Mraz (W, 5-2) got his fifth win of the season for his efforts.

Almost home

With another road game slated for tonight at 6 p.m. against Cincinnati (16-19, 7-5 American), the RedHawks won't return home to Hayden Park until Friday, marking more than two and a half weeks since their last home game.

The first series back, against the Ball State Cardinals (23-12, 7-3 MAC), will kick off at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Their last homestand ended with a 7-3 victory over Northern Kentucky on April 3, making this Miami's longest road trip of the season.

While a home ballpark is typically referred to as "friendly confines," it hasn't mattered where the RedHawks have played this season. They're a perfect 14-0 at home and 15-6 away or at a neutral site.

vinelca@miamioh.edu

@ChrisAVinel