May 24, 2003

Box Score

KENT, Ohio - Eastern Michigan's Jason Arnett forced the Miami (36-23-1) baseball team to wait another day for the Mid-American Conference title when he hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give his Eagles a 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Kent State's Gene Michael Field. The RedHawks had yet to lose in the tournament until this afternoon and play for the championship again tomorrow in game 11.

The Eagles ended Miami's consecutive scoreless innings streak of 12 in the second frame when Todd Kimling hit a two-out double to put himself in scoring position. A bloop single down the right-field line by catcher Brent Olivier led to EMU's first run of the game.

Miami was the beneficiary of three wild pitches by EMU's Brian Chad in the bottom half of the second to take its first lead, 2-1. Two back-to-back walks by Chad put men on first and second for the RedHawks and then a wild pitch advanced the runners one base. Miami's runner on third, senior Michael Carlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), scored on a wild pitch, and then another pitch in the dirt scored sophomore Tyler Tabler (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller).

Eastern Michigan scared the RedHawks in the top of the sixth inning when it put men on second and third with only one out. Freshman Jason Friedman (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), who pitched the first 5.1 innings allowing only one run, was pulled at this point in favor of Miami's MAC Freshman of the Year Graham Taylor (Villa Hills, Ky./Dixie Heights). Taylor took care of the next two EMU batters with a fly out and strike out to hold on to Miami's 2-1 lead.

Momentum shifted in Eastern Michigan's favor in the top of the eighth inning when Ryan Arnett gave his team a 3-2 lead with a two-run home run. Junior reliever Michael Gardner (Louisville, Ky./Louisville) had retired the side in the seventh inning, but after a two-out walk he allowed Arnett to leave the yard and give the Eagles a one-run lead.

Miami never put a rally together as the Eagles went on to the 3-2 victory to force a second MAC championship game. The two teams do battle again tomorrow, May 25, at 12 p.m. to decide the winner of the conference championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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