Junior Jordan Petraitis

April 1, 2008

CINCINNATI - Miami University's baseball team exploded for seven runs in the eighth inning, propelling the RedHawks to an 11-8 win over Cincinnati at Marge Schott Stadium Tuesday evening. Miami (6-17) snapped its six-game losing skid as junior Jordan Petraitis and junior Chris Nadeau combined to drive in five runs for the RedHawks.

Miami got on the board in the first inning as senior Evan Armitage led of the inning with a single in the left-center field gap and then advanced to second base on a passed ball. Armitage moved up to third base on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Jon Edgington, before scoring on a RBI single by Nadeau to put the RedHawks in front, 1-0.

Cincinnati tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, but Miami jumped back on top in the third inning. Back-to-back singles by junior Josh Hula and freshman Adam Eaton put runners on first and second base with no outs and Armitage was hit by a pitch during the next at bat to load the bases. Edgington hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to plate Hula, putting the RedHawks back on top by one run, 2-1.

Petraitis led off the sixth inning with a line-drive single to center field and two batters later, he advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by junior Eric Darlage. After junior Tommy Nurre drew a walk, freshman Brad Gschwind delivered a slicing single into right-center to score Petraitis and increase Miami's advantage to 3-1.

Cincinnati closed the gap with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Miami opened up its lead in the eighth inning. Nurre was hit by a pitch to start off the frame and advanced to second base on a single by Gschwind. A sacrifice bunt by Hula moved both runners up a base and Eaton hit a single through the left side to bring home a run. Armitage then came to the plate and singled into left center field to bring home another run and keep runners on first and second base. A walk by Edgington loaded the bases and during the next at bat, Nadeau grounded out to second base, but a muffed catch on a fielder's choice scored another run and kept the bases loaded. Petraitis then lined a double into left-center field that cleared the bases and extended Miami's lead to 9-2. After a ground out, sophomore Ben Eubank lined a double into right field that scored Petraitis, but Eubank was thrown out at third trying to extend his double into a triple. Miami scored seven runs on five hits in the inning and headed into the bottom of the eighth inning with a 10-2 cushion.

The Bearcats clawed back into the game with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 10-6, but the RedHawks tacked on another run in the ninth. Gschwind led off the inning with a single and he advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Two batters later, Eaton delivered a double over the left fielder's head to plate Gschwind and send Miami into the bottom of the ninth inning with an 11-6 lead.

The Bearcats scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but freshman Kyle Donawerth forced a groundout to second base to end the game, giving Miami a 11-8 win.

Gschwind and Eaton both had three hits apiece, while Petraitis and Nadeau had three RBIs and two RBIs, respectively. Freshman John Greene earned the first win in his career going 4 1/3 innings and giving up just one run.

Miami heads to Bloomington, Ind. to face the Indiana Hoosiers at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2. Wednesday marks the first game of a home and home series between the Hoosiers and RedHawks.