Miami Student

Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Sports

Senior Evan Armitage catches a Bearcat base stealer Tuesday night. Defensive plays like this one were few and far between, as Cincinnati blasted the RedHawks for 13 runs off of 16 hits, including 4 homeruns. Miami rebounded the next night in an 11-5 win.

The RedHawks broke free from their current slump Wednesday night, cruising past Indiana University 11-5 under the lights.

"I feel like we came out tonight and we had a sense of purpose about us," sophomore pitcher Chase Stewart said. "We had a rough loss last night and we wanted to come out pretty strong tonight."

Fresh off a loss to the University of Cinicinnati Tuesday, Miami came out Wednesday with a vengeance. The team scored 11 runs off of 15 hits in a seemingly endless offensive attack that produced four multiple-run innings.

Miami didn't waste time in getting the bats rolling either. The Red and White got a quick and solid start after junior Tommy Nurre launched a home run into center field to give the team a 2-0 cushion in the first.

Head coach Dan Simonds was very happy to see his team not only win, but also start off with the lead.

"We've been chasing all season long, you know we've been behind," Simonds said. "It is a lot easier to swing the bats when you've got a little bit of a lead and you don't feel like every time you're up to bat you have to hit a home run. So to have a lead, and to hold onto that lead is certainly a good thing to see."

The RedHawks started off strong against the Big-Ten Hoosiers and never fell out of the lead, only allowing the Hoosiers a total of five runs. This is not only impressive because of the difference in conference affiliations, but also because the Hoosiers hold one of the highest batting averages in the Big Ten.

A total of seven Miami players recorded at least one RBI for the RedHawks with junior Chris Nadeau and freshmen John Hornke both putting up three hits.

This clutch hitting was paired with equally impressive pitching that continued Miami's steady momentum throughout the entire game.

"I feel like everybody stepped up their game tonight," Stewart stated. "That has been a problem in our season. When our pitchers threw well we weren't hitting that well and when we were hitting well our pitchers weren't throwing that great. I think everything just clicked tonight."

Continued...

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