Kent State eliminates Miami from the MAC tournament in a 3-1 pitchers duel

The Miami University RedHawks baseball team suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. The loss eliminated the RedHawks from Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament title contention.

Graduate student Clayton Burke took the mound for Miami. He cruised through the first four innings of work, facing the minimum number of batters. Senior Brody Williams got the better of Burke, knocking the first hit of the ball game. Williams blasted a home run over the left field berm at ForeFront Field.

Burke continued his solid outing but was outdueled by Golden Flashes starter, senior Ciaran Caughey. Caughey smothered what had been a dominant offense, limiting the RedHawks to just two hits in his outing.

After working out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, Burke returned to the mound in the eighth. Senior Luke Matthews singled, before sophomore Brady Marshall was plucked up and in on Burke’s final pitch. Matthews would end up scoring, but it did not change how dominant Burke was in his final MAC start. His final statline: seven-and-a-third innings pitched, five hits and six strikeouts.

Senior Dominic Krupinski tripled to start the home half of the eighth inning. Junior Marcus Dierks worked the count full, fouling off several pitches while battling back into the count. He rolled a ball over to the Golden Flashes shortstop, but it allowed Krupinski to score. The RedHawks pulled the game within one run, however two more base runners were squandered on an inning, ending with a double play.

Kent State scrapped together another run, courtesy of crafty baserunning. Regaining a two-run cushion, the Golden Flashes were close to ending Miami’s tournament hopes. Kent silenced the Miami bats, likely ending the season for this senior-heavy roster, securing an integral win for the second-seeded Golden Flashes.

With the loss, Miami now falls to 38-17 on the season, and 25-8 in MAC play. The RedHawks are now beholden to the will of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Back-to-back losses in the MAC tournament caused Miami’s Rating Percentage Index (RPI) to fall, dampening the hopes of an “at-large” bid. They now sit at 44 in the RPI standings.

Even if this is the end for what has been such a dominant season for Miami, this is still a stepping stone for the continued improvement of RedHawk baseball. Last season, Miami qualified for the NCAA tournament; this year they greatly improved their record, dominating the conference regular season and qualifying as some of the nations best in terms of offensive production.

Retaining the core building blocks of this year’s team will be integral to the success of the RedHawks next season. It is clear that under the leadership of head coach Brian Smiley, Miami is headed in the right direction.

meneghcj@miamioh.edu

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