Miami Student

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Sports

Throwing eight shutout innings and striking out nine batters, junior starting pitcher John Ely led Miami to its only win of the three-game series Friday night.

Miami's Chris Nadeau slides into home during Friday night's baseball game, scoring the first of Miami's six runs.

It was a wild weekend of ups and downs for the 'Hawks baseball, as Miami University took on the Kent State Golden Flashes at McKie Field at Hayden Park.

Friday night's game was highlighted by starting pitcher John Ely, who threw six innings of no-hit baseball, as the RedHawks shutout the Flashes 6-0.

"I was just mixing it up and trying to keep the hitters off balance and attacking the zone," Ely said. "Getting ahead of the guys and getting ahead of the counts and trying to start them off 0-1 every time."

Saturday saw a much different storyline, as the 'Hawks and Flashes combined for 33 hits and 19 runs in a back and forth slugfest, which Kent State ultimately won 11-8.

Sunday's rubber match continued the offensive battle; even though Miami threatened in the ninth, the Golden Flashes escaped with 6-5 win, while also winning the series. The RedHawks now stand at 19-15 on the season with an 8-5 Mid-American Conference record, which is good enough for first place in the Eastern division.

"We just have to keep playing hard and keep doing the things we've been doing and not try to change a whole lot," said Head Coach Dan Simonds. "We've been playing some pretty solid baseball but the last couple weekends we haven't done what it takes to win a series. We'll figure some things out and we'll get back to the drawing board and get things going in the right direction."

Ely's pitching performance was the big story Friday, as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, pitching a total of eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts, giving up just four hits.

"You try not to think about it (no-hitter)," Ely said. "I mean you still have to take everything one pitch at a time. No hits, 10 hits, whatever, you just have to keep pitching the way you know how to."

He was given plenty of run support as Miami jumped out to a 1-0 lead after sophomore Chris Nadeau led off the second inning with a double and then scored on a wild pitch. Later in the fourth, sophomore Eric Darlage hit a two-run homer over the leftfield foul pole to put the RedHawks up by three.

"Obviously (Ely) is very valuable," Simonds said. "He is certainly a guy that when he goes out there we know he is going to give us eight or nine strong innings. He gives us an opportunity to win and he is also an emotional leader as well, he's a big part of the team."

After Ely's domination Friday night, the Kent State Golden Flashes were eager to get the bats rolling Saturday. Kent State exploded for 19 hits and 11 runs in an offensive onslaught. However, Miami wouldn't go down without a fight.

Bolstered by a six-run second inning, highlighted by sophomore Josh Hula's two-run homer and Nadeau's two-run single, the RedHawks battled to the very end. Junior J.D. Mynhier singled in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to three and bring the tying run to the plate. However, pinch-hitter Tommy Nurre quickly ended any hopes of a comeback by fouling out to the first baseman for the final out of the game. Although disappointed by the loss, Simonds was encouraged by the way his team fought through the aggressiveness of the Golden Flashes.

"You just try to stay in the game," Simonds said. "You try to keep the game close because you don't want to get too far behind. If you keep it somewhere relatively close you always have a chance to win and that's what we try to do."

Miami's pitching struggles continued Sunday, as junior Chris Niro gave up three home runs in just four at bats, before getting pulled from the game. The 'Hawks were in control of the game, scoring two runs in both the second and third inning to go up by four. Senior Jeff Carroll led the charge, going 3-4 while posting two RBI's with his third inning triple. But after the Flashes knocked out starting pitcher Robert Shannon with two runs, and four more off Niro, the RedHawks once again found themselves fighting an uphill battle.

Unfortunately Sunday would end just like the previous night, as Miami rallied late only to come up just short, falling 6-5. Although Niro struggled on the mound, Simonds was confident it was just a one-time bad outing.

"He's got to be ready to bounce back and be ready to go next time," Simonds said. "It's just unfortunate; he has pitched OK for us, but it was just not a real good game for him. He's got to not feel sorry for himself and get ready to pitch the next time we call his number."

Coming off the disappointing series, Miami looks to stay positive and get back on track.

"We just have to come out with confidence and know that we can still take this," Ely said. "We are still well within reach of a MAC championship. We just have to go out there and play hard every single out and get that chip on our shoulder like we're the best team like we know we are."

The RedHawks travel to Indiana State Tuesday in a non-conference matchup with the Sycamores, before coming back home for a 7 p.m. showdown Wednesday night with the Indiana Hoosiers.

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