Recap: RedHawks take two of three on the road

The Miami University RedHawks baseball team (32-15, 19-8) traveled north to square off against the Western Michigan University Broncos (22-20, 16-11) in a series that saw 61 total runs scored and a 2-1 series win for the RedHawks.

With just two weeks left in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) baseball season, the RedHawks sit one game back of the first place Kent State University Golden Flashes for first in the conference. Miami clinched a trip to Eastlake to compete in the MAC conference tournament with the series victory.

Winning the tournament is one of multiple opportunities to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament. The team is currently “on the bubble” or competing for an at-large selection. Its rankings percentage index , which is used as selection criteria, is 47 after games played on May 3. If the RedHawks do not win the MAC tournament they will hope for a similar fate as the men’s basketball team, who also earned an at-large bid.

GAME 1: WIN (11-9)

The RedHawks got off to an early start in the series opener in Kalamazoo. Junior outfielder Ryan Novak hit a two-run homerun in the top of the first to give the RedHawks an early lead they would not relinquish.

Senior southpaw Zac Sohosky started on the mound and was dominant early. Sohosky gave up just one run in his first five innings.

The RedHawks offense kept it in gear for the majority of the game. Novak hit another homerun in the fourth. In the fifth, freshmen Diego Cruz and junior Marcus Dierks both hit RBI singles.

The Broncos offense got going in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Mason Pilarski drove home two runs with a double down the right field line. WMU kept its pedal to the metal in the sixth. Junior Tanner Malley, the nation’s current batting average leader, scored Pilarski on a single, then senior Michael Maloney drove in two more Broncos with a double of his own. At the end of the sixth, the score was 9-7.

The lead never got below two for the RedHawks as the teams exchanged runs in the latter innings. Senior Austin Berggren closed out the game, securing the final seven outs for Miami and an 11-9 victory.

GAME 2: WIN (12-8)

Saturday’s contest was another barn burner. Graduate student Clayton Burke started on the mound and delivered five quality innings for the RedHawks. The Oregon native allowed five earned runs in the start and earned the win in the process. In relief, senior Carson Byers controlled the game from the sixth until the end, allowing only two runs and issuing six strikeouts in his four innings of work.

On the offensive side of the ball, the RedHawk bats struggled early. Scoring just one run in the first five innings, a homerun off the bat of junior Tommy Harrison. But they erupted in the sixth.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Dierks scored Cruz on a single to get the inning started. Senior Evan Appelwick then drove home senior Dominic Krupinski, pushing Dierks to second and making the score 6-3 Broncos.

Novak then hit his third homerun of the series. A grand slam to right field cleared the bases and put the RedHawks up 7-6, but Miami was not done. Still in the sixth inning, Krupinski batted in Cruz and Raether to amass an eight run inning for the RedHawks.

The game stayed close. The Broncos scored one run in the bottom of the sixth, but Appelwick put the final nail in the coffin with a two-run double in the eighth that scored Krupinski and Cruz.

The Broncos used eight pitchers in this matchup alone. Only senior Joey Wizcub pitched more than two innings. That did not matter for the RedHawks who won game two of the series 12-8.

GAME 3: LOSS (11-10)

With Miami looking for the sweep, they turned to senior Troy Benko on the mound.

Much like Friday’s game, the RedHawks got off to a hot start. Cruz started with a walk that scored Novak. Junior Mason Breidenbach then tacked on another run, scoring off a wild pitch. Miami had its third run of the second inning with Raether scoring on a fielders’ choice.

The third inning saw the RedHawks continue to pour on the runs. Breidenson scored Harrison on a double, then Raether drove home two with a single. Cruz made the Miami lead 7-1 with an RBI double that scored Raether.

The Broncos started their comeback in the sixth inning in an unconventional way. Senior Connor Ostrander walked, scoring a run. Pilarski was hit by a pitch, senior Jacob Rowold scored on a dropped third strike. This made the score 7-5 RedHawks after six.

Miami was able to make the score 10-5 with more runs in the seventh and eighth, but that would be the end of its scoring.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Broncos struck again. Senior Diego Pena belted a three-run homerun to left that brought WMU to within two heading into the final frame. The Broncos tied the game off of an RBI walk and a fielder’s choice. Maloney then hit a walk-off single off of Berggren that scored Pena and gave the Broncos a 11-10 win.

The RedHawks return to McKie Field this weekend for the penultimate MAC series against the University of Massachusetts. Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. for Saturday and Sunday’s matchups.

jollifvm@miamioh.edu