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Miami falls to Dayton and Eastern Kentucky

Miami senior pitcher Alex Brown delivers a pitch during Miami’s 10-2 to Dayton Tuesday. Brown went 2 innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits and a walk. Brown is 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA in five appearances this year.
Miami senior pitcher Alex Brown delivers a pitch during Miami’s 10-2 to Dayton Tuesday. Brown went 2 innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits and a walk. Brown is 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA in five appearances this year.

Steven Perkins, For The Miami Student

Miami senior pitcher Alex Brown delivers a pitch during Miami’s 10-2 to Dayton Tuesday. Brown went 2 innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits and a walk. Brown is 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA in five appearances this year. (Phill Ardnt | The Miami Student)

The Miami University baseball team fell short in a game that tied the mark for longest in school history. After over four hours and 14 innings, Miami lost 7-5 to Eastern Kentucky University. The loss was Miami's second in a row, as the RedHawks lost 10-2 to the University of Dayton.

Miami (18-22) lost after giving up two runs in the top of the 14th inning Wednesday. The RedHawks pieced together 14 hits in the 14 innings but only managed five runs against the Colonels (20-21).

Head coach Danny Hayden said execution was a problem.

"We didn't do a great job executing on our bunts today," Hayden said. "We had three bunts that we didn't get down. Anytime you've got little things like that in close games, which this one was throughout, it's going to bite you."

Senior catcher John Crummy agreed that not following through hurt the team.

"It's tough because it just means the timely hitting wasn't there," Crummy said. "A lot of guys had opportunities, myself included, to knock in a couple more runs."

Crummy was 3 for 6 with one RBI.

Junior Charlie Suich got the start Wednesday, going 4 2-3 innings and allowing three runs on five hits and recording three strikeouts.

Also pitching for the RedHawks was sophomore Wynston McMartin. He pitched 3 2-3 innings, giving up one run and two hits. He also recorded three strikeouts.

Making a surprise appearance on the mound for Miami was catcher sophomore Tommy Ricciardi. Ricciardi pitched the 14th inning, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks. He recorded two strikeouts in the final frame, but was tagged with the loss.

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Hayden did not blame the pitching staff for the loss.

"They kept us in the game," Hayden said. "They did a good job. EKU is a good team. They do some things offensively that sort of make you uncomfortable. They run the bases really hard but our pitching did a good job keeping us in there."

Crummy also said the pitching was good.

"That's probably the longest game I've ever played," Crummy said. "But it really shows what kind of bullpen you have. Our pitchers threw strikes, Tommy [Ricciardi] threw strikes and did all we asked of him and they were just lucky enough to score a couple runs and come out on top."

Miami only managed four hits in the eight-run loss to the Flyers (18-20) Tuesday, as not much went the RedHawks way.

"We played bad," Hayden said. "We didn't hit it, didn't pitch it didn't field. You lose 100 percent of the games you do that."

Freshman Christian Bokich started for the RedHawks Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and was credited with the loss in 4 innings of work.

Senior Alex Brown gave up four runs on just five hits in two innings on the mound Tuesday.

Hayden said the team should be able to bounce back for the weekend.

"We just do our best to come back out ready to roll," Hayden said. "It shouldn't be too hard to get these guys to lock in for a big MAC weekend. I think our guys will be excited and ready to go for that."

The RedHawks host the University of Toledo for a three game series this weekend. The Rockets (16-23) are in the third place in the MAC West, with an 8-8 record. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Fans can listen to the game on redhawkradio.com/sports.