Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

'Hawks dismantle Zips 16-5

Alex Butler, Senior Staff Writer

This weekend the Miami University RedHawk baseball team had an opportunity to make a splash — that is, if they could find a dry day to get onto the diamond.

The sun peaked out of the clouds just long enough and with a series sweep of the University of Akron Zips (16-22, 2-13 MAC). Head Coach Dan Simonds' squad evened up their record while climbing the ladder in the Mid-American Conference.

But the weather wasn't the only drama.

"The most important thing right now is the MAC wins," Simonds said. "We want to be above .500, but well above .500, but right now it's just really chipping away. Playing good baseball in the MAC — our theme all season long has been ‘get better.' Keep getting better — hopefully we will continue to do that."

Friday, the RedHawks (20-20,7-8 MAC) played a dozen innings of baseball. Sophomore Jordan Jankowski pitched three scoreless innings but will only be remembered for his walk-off base knock in the 12th inning after the Zips tied the contest up 5-5 in the eighth frame.

Jankowski's RedHawk teammates flocked to the plate in elation as first baseman Kyle Weldon came in for the winning run and a 6-5 RedHawk victory.

"It was the first pitch," Jankowski said. "It was a pretty good situation with guys on base so it just needed to come to me and I saw the pitch to hit and I got on it and that's it. It was a big win for us."

Saturday the Red and White crammed the same drama into regulation. This time, Weldon provided the final swing with a three run blast over the center field fence in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-4 triumph.

"It's certainly a big win," Simonds said. "What's most impressive is that we made a couple mistakes, which we've done here recently to beat ourselves. We didn't panic, we just kept playing the game."

Sunday, the Red and White left it all on the field and used a 10 run fourth inning to coast to a 16-5 dismantling of the Zips. Weldon crushed another round tripper while junior Adam Eaton bolstered his case by raking four hits and coming a triple shy of the cycle.

Weekend lumber leaders for the Red and White were Eaton (7-16, two homeruns, six RBI), Weldon (four RBI, two homeruns), Jankowski (5-11, homerun, four RBI) and Kevin Bower (four RBI, homerun).

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

"The ball hasn't been bouncing our way lately," Jankowski said. "We had to enjoy the win and it's a good feeling with your teammates."

The Red and White will take a five-day break until they head to Bowling Green State University Friday. The RedHawks and Falcons will battle at 3 p.m.