March 16, 2010

Complete Release/Game Notes

Leading Off: After playing its first 13 games away from Oxford, Miami makes its home debut Wednesday, hosting Division II Northern Kentucky for a 3 p.m. contest. The RedHawks enter their home opener riding a season-long four-game winning streak, going 4-0 during their spring break trip in Florida, knocking off Lehigh, Yale and Rhode Island (in a rain-shortened six-inning affair) before finishing the week with a 19-7 victory over Indiana on Saturday -- Miami's third straight win over the Hoosiers. The RedHawks' offense exploded in the Sunshine State, scoring 14 or more runs in three of the four games and clubbing eight round-trippers in the week. Miami was scheduled to play six games in Florida, but heavy rains cancelled contests later in the week against Fairfield, Sacred Heart and North Dakota State, but the 'Hawks picked up the game against Indiana before heading home, facing the Hoosiers in Gainesville, Fla. Miami has won its last two home openers and is 3-1 in home debuts under head coach Dan Simonds.

The Series: Wednesday's ballgame will be the 15th meeting all-time between the RedHawks and the Norse, with Miami holding a 13-1 edge in the series. The teams are facing each other for the first time since 2003, when the `Hawks scored a 9-5 victory on April 16 in Oxford. Miami and NKU first met in 1985 in Oxford, with the RedHawks sweeping a doubleheader. Miami won the first eight games in the series before the Norse picked up their lone win over Miami on March 25, 1992. The `Hawks have won the last five games with NKU.

About the Norse: Northern Kentucky comes to Oxford carrying an 11-4 record and riding a five-game winning streak. The Norse have also won seven of their last eight contests but are facing a Division I school for the first time in 2010. NKU is batting .348 as a team, led by Jason Cisper's .473 average. Cisper has also scored a team-best 19 runs and stole a team-leading seven bases (in eight tries), as the Norse average exactly nine runs a contest. Shannon McCormick has a team-best four home runs and is tied with Pat Muth for the team lead in RBI with 15. Muth is second on the squad with a .400 average at the plate. Northern Kentucky slugs .513, spurred by the 45 doubles it has smacked so far in 2010, compared to just the 19 it has conceded. NKU starting pitcher Dave Middendorf has made four starts this year and has gone 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA while firing 29 strikeouts and walking just five in 23.0 innings of work.

On Deck: Following its mid-week contest with Northern Kentucky, Miami returns south for a three-game series with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. The series will mark the RedHawks' second trip in 2010 to the state of Alabama, after getting swept in a three-game set at Auburn from March 5-7. Miami and JSU play a doubleheader Saturday, March 20, starting at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m.CT) and conclude the series Sunday, March 21, at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT).

Weisenburger Wins MAC East Honor: Junior catcher Adam Weisenburger earned MAC East Player of the Week honors March 16, the first of his career, after hitting .727 (8-for-11) in Miami's four wins in Florida. He had three doubles and two homers to help him to a 1.545 slugging percentage while notching seven RBI and scoring 10 runs. The co-captain's best game was a 4-for-5 showing March 13 vs. Indiana, as he came a triple shy of the cycle, tying a career high with four hits, while scoring a career-best four runs. He is the second RedHawk to earn a MAC weekly honor in 2010, as junior outfielder Adam Eaton won the same award after opening weekend.

Heating Up in the Sunshine State: Miami's offense may have gotten off to a slow start in 2010, but a trip to Florida for spring break was all the RedHawks needed to get their bats going. Miami batted .368 as a team while going 4-0 from March 9-13, compared to a .260 team average over the first nine games. The 'Hawks belted as many home runs in the Sunshine State (8) as they did in the first nine games of 2010, including five of the eight in Florida coming March 13 against Indiana. Miami also drastically improved its run total, plating 51 runs (12.75 per game) in the four contests over spring break, compared to 59 runs (6.56 per game) in the nine games prior to open the season.

It wasn't all fun in the sun for the `Hawks however, as rain later in the week washed out games against Fairfield (March 11), Sacred Heart (March 12) and North Dakota State (March 13) and shortened their game against Rhode Island (March 11) to six innings (a 4-3 win), but Miami was able to pick up the Hoosiers on short notice, as the teams squared off in Gainesville, Fla. at Gainesville High School before returning to Oxford.

Jankowski of All Trades: Sophomore right-handed pitcher/catcher Jordan Jankowski has done a little bit of everything for the RedHawks in 2010. In Miami's three-game series at Auburn March 5-7, he played a different position each game. Friday, March 5, Jankowski came out of the bullpen to pitch in relief, on Saturday he started at catcher and Sunday he made his first collegiate start at first base, when he also drilled his first career home run. The McMurray, Pa., native has also started as Miami's DH three times and is batting .385 on the year (second on the team) with 10 RBI and a pair of home runs. In one of those starts at DH March 10 vs. Yale, he later took the mound in relief and earned the save, his first of 2010 and sixth of his career, which moved him into Miami's all-time top-10 saves list (see page 18 for a complete list).

Jankowski almost single-handedly defeated Louisiana-Lafayette in Miami's 7-5 11-inning win Feb. 27, as he both pitched and hit in the extra sessions. On the mound, he threw the final three innings, including both extra innings, without allowing a run or a hit, while strikeout out five to earn the win. In the top of the 11th inning, Jankowski was forced to bat because Miami lost its designated hitter in the lineup and he hit the go-ahead two-RBI single before securing the win with his arm in the bottom of the frame.

Klepto-Redhawks: Miami has been using its speed to its advantage so far in 2010, going a near perfect 21-for-22 on stolen base attempts, led by junior outfielder Adam Eaton's 9-for-9 showing. Junior second baseman Jon Edgington and sophomore outfielder Ryan Brenner each swiped three bags while five other 'Hawks have at least stolen one. The RedHawks started the year a perfect 19-for-19 until being caught March 13 vs. Indiana. Miami is third in the MAC in stolen bases, three behind Northern Illinois' league-best 24, but has the best success rate in the conference at 95.5 percent.

Racking Up the Runs: After being shutout in its season opener Feb. 19, Miami exploded for 23 runs in a 23-5 victory over Furman on Feb. 20. The 23 runs marked the most by a Miami squad since a 35-8 win over Quinnipiac on June 4, 2005 in the NCAA Tournament. Ten different RedHawks crossed home at least once, including six who did it more than once. Junior outfielder Adam Eaton led the way with six runs while junior second baseman Jon Edgington scored four times. In the seventh inning, the 'Hawks tallied 12 runs alone as 16 RedHawks came to the plate, giving Miami its most runs in a single frame since registering 12 in the ninth inning in the win over Quinnipiac.

The `Hawks lit up the scoreboard again March 13, pounding out 19 runs, including a season-best five homers, in a 19-7 win over Indiana. Back-to-back seven-run innings (4th and 5th) helped spur the outburst. The 19 runs are the second-most by a Miami team since putting up 35 against Quinnipiac, as the RedHawks did not score more than 18 runs from 2006-09. Miami is 4-0 when scoring 10 or more runs so far this season.

Gschwind is Mr. Reliable: Junior infielder Brad Gschwind has been a rock for Miami the last two seasons, as he has started in 68 straight games, including all 55 last year and 13 so far in 2010. He was the only RedHawk to start all 55 games in 2009 and is just one of three to start all 13 this season (Adam Eaton and Adam Weisenburger). The Cincinnati native has started 87 career games for Miami and will be playing in his 100th career game against the Norse Wednesday. Fellow junior infielder Jon Edgington had played in 69 straight games, including all 55 in 2009, until a finger injury at Auburn on March 5 has forced him to miss all but one of Miami's last six games. Prior to his injury, the co-captain had not seen action in just nine games in his career (all as a freshman in 2008), as he's played in 108 games as a RedHawk, starting 103. Junior outfielder Adam Eaton is the active leader in both games played and started for Miami with 116 and 115, respectively, missing just six career games.

Pair of Adams Leading the MAC: Junior outfielder Adam Eaton and junior catcher Adam Weisenburger have been the leaders of Miami's offense so far in 2010, as both rank towards the top of the Mid-American Conference in many statistical categories. Eaton leads the MAC in runs scored (19), is second in RBI (17), stolen bases (9) and total bases (38) and ties for the league lead in triples (2). He is also in the top 10 statistically in hits (t-8th/19), home runs (t-2nd/4) and slugging percentage (4th/.704). Weisenburger ranks second in slugging (.729), seventh in batting average (.417) and ties for second in doubles (6). He also ranks in the top 10 in hits (t-4th/20), runs scored (t-7th/13), home runs (t-5th/3), RBI (t-4th/15), total bases (t-3rd/35), walks (t-8th/8) and on-base percentage (t-5th/.500).

Eaton a Triple Threat: Junior outfielder Adam Eaton, although just early in his third year playing for the RedHawks, already ranks tied for fifth on Miami's career triples chart with 11, including a pair so far this year. He needs just one more three-bagger to move into a four-way tie for second while Chris Sexton (1990-93) holds the Miami all-time record with 14 career triples. Eaton had six three-baggers in 2009, tying for fourth on Miami's single-season list, and three as a freshman. To see the complete top-10 career triples list, see page 17.

`Hawks Migrated South to Start Season: Miami was on the road quite a bit to start the 2010 campaign as the RedHawks played their first 13 games away from Oxford before hosting Northern Kentucky March 17. Not only were the games not at McKie Field at Hayden Park, all 13 games were south of the Mason-Dixon line, as Miami opened with three games in South Carolina (Feb. 19-21), played three at Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 27-28), faced Auburn in a three-game set (March 5-7) and traveled on to Florida for four games during its spring break trip, all before its first home game. Following the RedHawks' home match-up with the Norse, Miami then heads back to Alabama for another three-game weekend series (Jacksonville State).

Over the first 13 games (four states), the RedHawks logged approximately 4,856 miles of travel (round trip), not including their upcoming trip to Jacksonville State.

For the complete release, click here.

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