May 8, 2009
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - In a battle of third-place teams, the Ohio University baseball team fell behind early and was unable to catch up, as it lost to Miami University, 13-5, Friday night at a drizzly McKie Field at Hayden Park. The RedHawks (26-19, 14-8) took over sole possession of third place in the MAC's East Division, while the Bobcats (23-21, 13-9 Mid-American Conference) are now in fourth place, but remain just a game and a half behind co-leaders Kent State and Bowling Green.
Senior Brandon Besl (Cincinnati, Ohio) led Ohio with a 4-for-5 night, including a double and his second-career multi-homer game (first of the year), while tallying a trio of RBIs and runs each. His seventh home run of year (and first of the game) extended his hitting streak to a season-best 13 games. Junior first baseman Jerod Yakubik (Byesville, Ohio) tallied a pair of hits and a pair RBIs, including his fourth home run of the season.
Senior starter Chris Rigo (Westlake, Ohio) was saddled with the loss and fell to 5-4, going five and two-thirds innings, while conceding eight runs, but tied a career high with nine strikeouts. Redshirt senior Matt Erwood (6-2) garnered the win for Miami, also tossing five and two-thirds and giving up a pair of runs on four hits.
Miami jumped ahead early, plating three runs in the first frame after loading the bases without an out. Sophomore Adam Weisenburger drove in the final two tallies on a single up the middle, but Rigo struck out three RedHawks to work out of the jam.
The 'Cats closed within one in the fourth, as Besl smoked a two-run blast down the left-field line, but freshman Ryan Curl regained Miami's three-run cushion in the bottom of the stanza with his two-run bomb to make it 5-2.
Ohio loaded the bases in the fifth, but was unable to cut down the deficit. The 'Hawks then made it 8-2 in the sixth with a pair of four-baggers, a solo shot by sophomore Adam Eaton and a two-run shot by senior Chris Nadeau.
Junior Zak Hatfield added his 12th homer of the season in the seventh and the RedHawks tacked on four more scores in the inning for a 13-2 edge. Yakubik clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth and Besl ripped his second round-tripper of the game (and eighth of the season) in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as Miami cruised to the 13-5 victory.
The Bobcats and RedHawks will meet again Saturday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET. Junior Rex Ingham (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will start on the hill for Ohio, while sophomore Tyler Melling (5-1, 4.82 ERA) will throw for Miami. Live stats will be available for Saturday's contest via Gametracker on OhioBobcats.com and the game will also be broadcast on WATH 970 AM in Athens and streamed live on OhioBobcats.com. The "Voice of the Bobcats" Russ Eisenstein and Brian Boesch will call the action with pre-game coverage starting at 5:45 p.m. ET.
Notes: With his nine punch-outs Friday, Rigo moved into tenth place on Ohio's career strikeouts list with 191 ... He also moved into sixth all-time at Ohio with 262 career innings pitched ... Rigo's other nine-strikeout performance came on March 29, 2008 against Western Michigan ... Senior Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) now has 19 doubles on the season, which ties him for sixth in a single-season at Ohio ... Besl's two homers gave him four in his last six ballgames ... His three RBIs moved him into a tie for eighth all-time at Ohio with 144, while his 11 total bases gave him 361 for his career, putting him in seventh in Bobcat history ... The Bobcats now have 80 round-trippers on the season (42 in their last 12 games), their most since the 2001 'Cats led the nation with 122 blasts ... With a pair of free passes, junior Marc Krauss (Deshler, Ohio) moved into third in Ohio history with 119 career walks ... Ohio recorded double-digit hits for the 14th time in its last 15 games ... The Bobcats were hit by three pitches, upping their school-record season total to 88.
