May 22, 2010
Final Stats
OXFORD, Ohio-After two days of stymieing visiting Ohio with its stellar pitching, host Miami utilized a stout hitting attack to down Ohio 16-9 Saturday afternoon at McKie Field at Hayden Park.
With the victory, Miami finished the regular season at 28-26 overall and 13-14 in the Mid-American Conference, while Ohio finished at 20-33 and also 13-14 in the league.
The victory proved crucial for the RedHawks in terms of next week’s MAC Tournament in Chillicothe. Miami, Eastern Michigan and Ohio all finished the regular season at 13-14, but the RedHawks were the only one of the three to defeat top-seeded Central Michigan, which made then the six seed. EMU then won the tiebreaker for the seventh seed due to their victories over fifth-seeded Bowling Green, a team that swept the Bobcats.
Miami right fielder Adam Eaton drove in four runs to lead the way for the RedHawks, while third baseman Brad Gschwind, center fielder Ryan Brenner and second baseman Jon Edgington all knocked in two. Shortstop Ryan Kaup led the way with three runs scored.
Ohio was led by four RBIs from left fielder Robert Maddox III, while first baseman Tyler Backstrom also knocked in two. Third baseman Bryan Barnes also had a big game with three hits and three runs scored.
Miami reliever Brooks Fiala (3-4) took the win, tossing two innings, while allowing no runs on two hits with one strikeout with two walks. Ohio reliever Michael Dillon (4-4) suffered the defeat, yielding four runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks in just one inning of work. The Bobcats used eight pitchers during the course of the game, with Backstrom’s eighth-inning effort turning out the best, as he struck out two batters during his perfect frame.
The two teams traded runs in the first inning, with Ohio’s tally coming on a sacrifice fly by Maddox to right field. Right fielder Jerod Yakubik, who singled to right earlier in the inning, scored on the play.
The Bobcats went on top 2-1 in the fourth after Backstrom laced a run-scoring single to right. Miami blew the game open after that, tallying the contest’s next 13 runs with four in the fourth, one in the fifth and eight in the sixth to take a 14-2 lead.
Ohio fought back with four in the seventh on a two-run double to right by Maddox and RBI singles by Barnes and catcher Trace Voshell.
The RedHawks added two more in the seventh, before the Bobcats responded with their final three runs in the ninth to account for the final margin. The first came on Maddox’s home run to center, his league-leading 20th round-tripper of the season. Catcher J.R. Reynolds and Backstrom plated the final two on a pair of RBI groundouts.
The eighth-seeded Bobcats face top-seeded Central Michigan Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET in first-round action at the MAC Tournament, which is a double-elimination affair.
