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May 7, 2002
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MIAMI HEADS TO BILL DAVIS STADIUM FOR MID-WEEK CONTEST AGAINST OHIO STATE: For the second straight week the Miami University baseball team split a Mid-American Conference series, this time with Ohio, and hopes to piggyback its 12-2 victory on Sunday against the Bobcats with a win on Wednesday, May 8 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The contest marks the 37th meeting between the two schools and the first since April 29, 1998 when the Buckeyes dominated the Red and White 14-0 at Bill Davis Stadium.
The RedHawks, while still in the hunt for a MAC Tournament bid, are entering a crucial part of their schedule with conference series at Akron and at home against possible No. 1 seed Kent State to conclude the regular season. This week's contest against Ohio State and a contest on May 15 at Wright State are the RedHawks last two non-conference games. Head Coach Tracy Smith is 0-1 all-time against the Buckeyes and would like to see his team enter the Akron series on a winning streak.
RECENT REDHAWK ACTION: As graduation festivities were taking place on the outside of McKie Field at Hayden Park, inside the walls the RedHawks and Ohio were doing battle on the diamond. A baseball rivalry that spans over 10 decades back to the first meeting in 1915, the Bobcats and Miami split the four-game set keeping OU on top in the all-time tally 102-61-1.
Senior hurler Shawn Landis (Pleasant Hill, Ohio/Dayton) tossed his third straight victory since entering the starting rotation with an 8-6 victory on Friday over the Bobcats. Landis improves his record to a flawless 5-0 despite receiving a four-run scare from Ohio in the top of the ninth inning.
Luck, however, wasn't on the RedHawks side during Saturday's doubleheader as OU swatted home runs in the last inning of both contests to collect 4-3 and 8-6 victories, respectively. Facing a 4-0 deficit in the first game sophomore Ryan Edginton (Chester Springs, Pa./Arizona State) came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and crushed a three-run home run to pull Miami within one, but the OU lead was too much to be made up in one inning. The nightcap was even more disheartening for the RedHawks as Ohio rallied in the top of the ninth inning with four runs to go from one-run down to a three-run lead, and ultimately the 8-6 win.
Needing a win for the series split the RedHawks came out on Sunday and busted out the whooping sticks by scoring eight runs in the first three innings. Hitting two of Miami's three round-trippers was junior Michael Carlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), his sixth and seventh home runs in the last eight league contests.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES: The Buckeyes have a strong team this season and are coming off a disappointing Big Ten conference split at Michigan this weekend, which brings their overall record to 28-15-1 and 15-8 in the Big Ten. Ohio State split a four-game series with Purdue two weeks ago, the same Boilermaker squad that took two games from the Red and White.
Purdue along with Dayton, Indiana and Florida International are the only teams that Ohio State and Miami have in common. The Buckeyes are 4-5 against these four opponents while the RedHawks are winless in five contests against these four schools.
The Buckeyes best hitter right now is outfielder Doug Deeds who boasts a .391 batting average along with a team-best 10 home runs. He also leads OSU in runs scored (50), and is tied for the lead in hits (61) and RBI (38). Infielders Drew Anderson and Brett Garrard have been terror on the basepaths for opposing catchers, swiping 23 bags in 28 attempts. Anderson and Garrard account for 40 percent of OSU's 57 stolen bases.
The Buckeyes pitching staff is anchored by the right-handed Nate Smith and the southpaw Scott Lewis. Smith has posted a perfect 5-0 record in seven starts while maintaining a team-best 2.13 earned run average. Also with a sub-3.00 ERA is Lewis who has a 2.91 ERA in 11 starts. He has a 5-2 record for the Buckeyes and has tossed three complete games. Rounding out the rotation for OSU is left-hander Josh Newman (7-4, 3.44 ERA) and righty E.J. Laratta (6-3, 3.96 ERA).
LIVESTATS NOW AVAILABLE: All home Miami baseball games are available now on the internet via www.MURedHawks.com. The gamecast is very similar to what ESPN.com and CBS.Sportsline.com run on their websites.
This week's Ohio State contest can be viewed on the web on either school's web site. The Ohio News Network is doing a live television broadcast of the game so call your local cable provider to find out if you get ONN on your service.
MIAMI IN THE MAC: Miami junior Mike Galloway (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Michigan) moved up into the fourth slot in the conference in batting average (.405) after going 5-for-12 against Ohio. He still holds the lead in the conference with 55 runs scored, but dropped to second with 70 hits. Galloway is in the top ten in triples (t-5th), RBIs (3rd), total bases (5th), on-base percentage (4th) and slugging percentage (10th).
Cracking the MAC top ten this week is Carlin whose 14 home runs, which lead Miami, are good enough to tie for fourth in the conference. Carlin also is eighth in the conference in slugging percentage (.704) and ninth in total bases (107). Carlin also is tied for eighth in the MAC with three others at 43 RBI.
Also figuring into the mix are sophomore Ryan Edginton (Chester Springs, Pa./Arizona State) and junior Zach Schmidt (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) who are tied for third in the conference, with Galloway, with three triples.
A COOK'S DOZEN: Junior David Cook (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) is in the midst of something that no other RedHawks has done this season, and that is a 12-game hitting streak. Over the last 12 games Cook has batted .407 (22-54), knocked in 14 runs and scored 14 times.
Not only does Cook have Miami's longest hitting streak of the season, but he also is on pace to set the fifth most at-bats in a season. Cook has 192 at-bats in 46 games and with 10 regular season games is on pace for 233 at-bats.
NUMERO UNO CARLIN: No. 1 on the Miami roster, Carlin has played to the level of his jersey number in the last 12 games. His .528 batting average (19-36) is more than 100 points higher than the next RedHawk, and he leads the squad with eight round-trippers and 18 RBI. He also paces the Red and White during this stretch with a .630 on-base percentage and a 1.333 slugging percentage.
This recent display of power by the RedHawk first basemen has moved him into striking distance of the single-season home run record. Carlin's 14 dingers gives him sole possession of the fifth highest single-season total. The mark to beat is 17 set by Jason Knoedler in 2001.
NO MORE LONG BALL FOR YOU: Despite its team 5.85 ERA, which is higher than last year's mark of 5.85, the Miami pitching staff has succeeded in cutting down on the number of gopher balls it allows. Last season RedHawk hurlers allowed 83 home runs, and this year they have cut that number down to 48 dingers in 46 contests.
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