Miami baseball splits Battle of the Bricks series

Coming into the three-game Battle of the Bricks, the Miami RedHawks (33-13, 13-7 Mid-American Conference) looked to win their first series since April 13.

Contrarily, the Ohio Bobcats (16-27, 10-10 MAC), after limping out of the 2019 gates, were trying to continue their MAC schedule hot streak and claim their third weekend out of their last four.

Neither team completed its objective.

Miami took Friday night, 5-1, before Ohio responded with a 4-3 Saturday victory. Due to rain and unplayable field conditions, Sunday's rubber match was canceled, ending the series at a 1-1 split.

Shane Smith mows batters down

Nothing new here.

Senior reliever Shane Smith has not allowed an earned run in the last month. His ERA sits at 1.67 in 37 \0x2154 innings this season.

Translation: that's good.

But, what he's done during his last two outings is even more impressive.

After going five innings of two-unearned-run baseball against the Northern Illinois Huskies on April 27, Smith retired all nine batters he faced in three innings against the Bobcats on Friday.

He struck out four batters and preserved the RedHawks' lead, closing out his fourth save of the year.

Once again, that's really good. But, to top it off, he's pitching on an injured knee.

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He could've been shut down for the season two weeks ago. Instead, he's hurling nothing zeroes out of the Miami 'pen.

Miami gets all of its Game Two runs through one player

Senior outfielder Mackay Williams had a 1-for-4 day at the plate in a 4-3 loss on Saturday.

However, his one hit and an RBI fielder's choice provided all three of the RedHawks' runs, as Bobcats' pitching shut Miami down for much of the afternoon.

Williams drove in a run with a fielder's choice in the fourth before crushing one over the right-field wall for a two-run home run in the sixth.

The dinger, his fourth of the season, was one of just five RedHawk hits. In total, Miami left nine runners on base.

Rain, rain, go away

For the second time in five days, the RedHawks fell victim to a rainout.

Sunday's scheduled rubber match was canceled when conditions at Ohio's Bob Wren Stadium were deemed unplayable. The game will not be rescheduled because of the limited time remaining in the regular season.

That came just four days after Miami's Wednesday cancellation against Ohio State.

This season, the RedHawks have suffered three cancellations, three postponements or suspensions of play and several more start-time changes.

Miami canceled four games last season.

vinelca@miamioh.edu

@ChrisAVinel