RedHawks Take Two From The Rockets in Oxford

Game 1 Miami won 1-0

Pitching stole the show in game 1. The Toledo Rockets (17-25, 8-10 Mid-American Conference) starting pitcher Ryan Wilkinson (4-4) was a tough luck loser allowing only one run in seven strong innings of work. For the Miami-OH Redhawks (20-23, 10-8 MAC) Seth Varner (6-2) continued his pitching dominance by tossing a complete game two hitter. Varner leads the Mid-American Conference this season with 77 strikeouts, and he found no difficulty adding to that total with 12 punch outs on Friday night. In a game that totaled nine hits only Rockets center fielder Tyler Grogg ever made it past second base. The RedHawks scored their lone run in the third inning which would prove to be all they needed as Varner carried the team on his shoulders the rest of the way.

Game 2 Toledo won 13-5

The UT bats came to life in game two. The Rockets pounded starter Nathan Williams (3-6) for eight runs in 2.2 innings pitched. The bullpen did not fair any better for the RedHawks yielding an additional seven runs over the final 6.1 innings of work. Tyler Grogg, Ryan Callahan, Jake Krupar, and John Martillotta all collected multiple hits and accounted for 8 of the 13 total hits in the game. The only real positive for the RedHawks was pinch hitter Adam Yacek. Yacek came in to pinch hit in the eighth, grounding out but bringing in a run in the process. In the ninth he would get a second at bat and drive home two runs with a single. The RedHawks had 13 base runners in the game, but the red hot swinging Rockets never gave them a chance in this one.

Game 3 Miami won 5-3

The Rockets needed game three to get back to .500 in conference play, but came up a little short. The Rockets didn't do themselves any favors committing and tying a season high four errors. Kyle Slack (3-5) was a tough luck loser in this game. Slack only allowed one hit, and struck out six in 3.2 innings of work. The four runs he allowed were all unearned and unfortunately for him enough to pin the loss on his shoulders. The Rockets outhit the RedHawks 9-to-5, and played the better game, but all of that was hidden due to the errors. Ryan Powers (5-3) picked up the win for the RedHawks allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and three strikeouts over the course of seven innings of work.

The Rockets will travel to Mt. Pleasant to take on a very angry Central Michigan University Chippewas squad that was just swept and knocked out of first place in the MAC. The RedHawks will play host to the Bowling Green State University Falcons. The series will be a good indicator of who may be in that top tier of the MAC as both teams come in with a 10-8 conference record.