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Sweep helps RedHawks secure first place By MIKE SMITH
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Chloe Parks and Erin Pinter drove in all three runs and Madilyn Reeves (12-6) registered her 12th win of the season as Miami (19-6, 9-0 MAC) defeated Western Michigan (8-23, 2-4 MAC) 3-1 Saturday at Fran Ebert Field. The victory completed a series sweep and extended MU's current winning streak to seven games. With Ohio (22-9, 5-1 MAC) falling to Northern Illinois Saturday, the RedHawks are currently alone in first place. Reeves allowed eight . . . RedHawks extend streak with back-to-back 5-4 wins  By MIKE SMITH KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Miami RedHawks continue to live a softball life on the edge. More importantly, they continue to win and remain undefeated in Mid-American Conference play. Miami (18-16, 8-0 MAC) opened its second MAC road series Friday with a pair of 5-4 wins over Western Michigan (8-22, 2-3 MAC). The victories ran MU's current winning streak to six games, five of which were one-run verdicts. The other was by a mere two runs. Sophomore Madilyn Reeves (11-6) got the . . . . . . win in Game One, tossing seven innings of nine-hit ball. She struck out eight and walked just one. Like Reeves, Junior Le'a Chevrier (7-5) went seven innings in Game Two. She allowed four runs and six hits, striking out six and walking four while also hitting two batters. Reeves picked up the save, holding the Broncos scoreless while giving up one hit in the eighth inning. GAME ONE: MIAMI 5, WESTERN MICHIGAN 4 • Miami jumped in front with two run in the top of the first. Kaylee Oh opened the game with a single and later scored on a Shelby Kunkel base hit. Chloe Parks's double to left brought in Kunkel. • WMU got one run back on a leadoff homer by Kelly Payton. After a groundout, the Broncos then got another double and moved the runner to third. However, Reeves struck out two batters to end the threat. • Western Michigan tied the game (2-2) with one run on three hits in the second. • After a scoreless third, Miami struck for three runs in the fourth. Holly Merritt's double scored the first run with one out. MeKenna Campbell and Danitza Hernandez each drove in single runs with two down. • WMU pulled within one in the fifth with a walk and a blast. Jordan Smith's homer to left scored Riley Dittmar. • Both teams had one hit but left two on base in a scoreless sixth. • Down 5-4, the Broncos got back-to-back one-out singles in the seventh. However, Reeves shut the door by inducing a game-ending double play. • With her eight Ks, Reeves surpassed 100 strikeouts on the season. • Campbell and Parks each went 2-for-3 at the plate. • Kunkel went 2-for-4 at the plate. GAME TWO: MIAMI 5, WESTERN MICHIGAN 4 (8 innings) • After a scoreless first, Miami took a 1-0 lead in the second when Erin Pinter singled in Campbell. • Western Michigan tied the contest with one run in the third. • Jenna Golembiewski's fifth inning two-run home run to left center put the visiting RedHawks in front 3-1. • Another long ball, this time by Campbell, gave MU a 4-1 lead mid-way through the sixth inning. • Western Michigan stormed back to tie the game with a three-run sixth. All three runs came home on Tristen Head's circuit shot. • Oh singled to start Miami's seventh. She stole second and made it to third on an error. However, WMU pitcher Kaylee Salyer (0-5) retired three straight batters in the heart of MU's order. The Broncos were unable to score against Chevrier in their half of the seventh. • Miami opened the eighth with a Merritt double and Campbell single. Both runners were able to move up. However, a Hernandez flyout to center resulted in two outs when the runner at third was rung up for leaving early. Pinter provided the game winning shot, tripling to centerfield to drive in pinch runner Sydney Gilbert. • Reeves replaced Chevrier in the circle for WMU's final at bat. She gave up a walk and single but got out of the jam with a popup and double play. • Golembiewski recorded her 150th career hit with a two-run homer
• Kunkel and Pinter went 2-for-3 at the plate. Campbell went 3-for-4. • Seven different RedHawks had hits. Miami takes 6-0 MAC record to Western Michigan  Miami (16-15. 6-0 MAC) softball will try to extend its four-game win streak this weekend when it faces Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. The three-game series starts Friday (noon). A second game immediately follows, while the two-teams wrap up their series Saturday (time TBA).
The Broncos are 8-20 overall and 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play. Those three league games were against Toledo back on March 14-15. Western Michigan took the first two, 3-2 and 8-6. UT won the finale 3-2. Since that time, WMU played . . . MU finishes sweep with pair of one-run victories Re-play proves pivotal in Game Two victory  Jenna Golembiewski rounds second after hitting a Game Two home run. (MVSmith/MRO) By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- A replay correction and Holly Merritt's eighth inning RBI hit to right were both critical pieces in a 3-2 Miami win over Northern Illinois (7-17, 2-4 MAC) Saturday in Game Two of a double-header. The RedHawks (16-15) also prevailed 7-6 in Game One, with Sunday's wins finishing a sweep that leaves MU 6-0 in Mid-American Conference play through two weeks of MAC action. Miami also edged NIU (5-3) Friday night. "It's extremely difficult . . . to sweep," Miami Head Coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate said. "To sweep two weekends back-to-back is proof of (our team's) resiliency." Game 2 was a particularly hard test as . . . Outhit 10-4, RedHawks beat NIU 5-3 Pair of sixth inning homers lift MU in series opener  By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Kaylee Oh and Jenna Golembiewski homered while driving in two runs each to lead Miami (14-15, 4-0 MAC) over Northern Illinois (7-15, 2-2 MAC) 5-3 Friday at the Miami Softball Stadium. The Huskies banged out 10 hits but were limited to three runs by RedHawk hurler Madilyn Reeves, who struck out six and walked three across seven innings. She raised her record to 9-6 on the campaign. Danielle Stewart (2-7) took the . . . Parks seizes opportunity with walk-off hit  By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- After holding a 6-0 lead through three innings, the Miami RedHawks (13-15, 3-0 MAC) needed a seventh inning walkoff double by Chloe Parks to pull out a 7-6 win over Dayton (12-9, 3-0 A-10) Wednesday. Dayton scored three in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to forge a 6-all tie. The Flyers, in fact, nearly seized a lead in the top of seventh, but a throw . . . Miami streak ends with non-conference loss to Marshall Walks contribute to visitors' big innings  McKenna Campbell throws to first to complete a strikeout. (MVSmith/MRO) By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Early damage proved too much to overcome as visiting Marshall (15-11) ended Miami's five-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Tuesday at the Miami Softball Stadium. Nine of the Thundering Herd runs came during the first three frames. Miami scored just three runs during that span. Both teams added a single run in the fifth, and Miami rallied for four runs in the seventh. Each team totaled eight hits, but the Herd took advantage of seven walks by Miami pitching and a RedHawk error. Three of the walks were issued by freshman starter Shelbie Krieger (0-4), who also surrendered four hits and five runs. "She's a freshman. She's only had . . . NIT selects Kent State over Miami - REALLY!  By MIKE SMITH
There are always teams on the outside bemoaning their "non-slection" to tournaments. Right or wrong, there is no "remedy." Such is the case with the Miami men's basketball team, which appears to have drawn an "ultra-snub" for the National Invitational Tournament. The RedHawks have had a record-breaking season, finishing with a 25-9 overall record. That included a 14-4 MAC regular season record and two MAC Tournament wins before falling to a VERY talented Akron team by two points in the title game. The Zips lost just one MAC game (at Ohio) all year and clawed their way back after falling behind by as many as 18 points in the final. The bottom line is they earned their way to the MAC's automatic NCAA bid. Few expected a second MAC representative, and so there was no surprise that UA was the only MAC team to make the dance. There was a surprise, however, in the next 24 hours! When the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) announced . . . RedHawks finish off Flashes for sweep  By MIKE SMITH
KENT, OH -- On a day when offenses combined for 23 runs and 27 hits, the Miami RedHawks softball team posted a 14-9 win over Kent State Saturday at Devine Diamond. That victory gave the RedHawks (12-14, 3-0 MAC) a sweep of the MAC-opening weekend series. Kent State fell to 7-19 overall (0-3 MAC). Madilyn Reeves (8-6) picked up the win, surrendering six hits and five runs (3 earned) while walking five and hitting a batter. She did not record a strikeout. Shelbie Krieger and Le'a Chevrier tossed an inning apiece, each giving up two runs on two hits with one strikeout and one walk. Carley Penner (1-3) took the . . . Miami title drive falls short as Zips rally late  By MIKE SMITH
CLEVELAND, OH -- Nate Johnson's fast-break floater in the lane with two seconds left gave top-seeded Akron (28-6, 17-1 MAC) a 76-74 win over Miami (25-9, 14-4 MAC) Saturday at Rocket Arena as the Zips claimed a second straight Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament title. Akron, which defeated the RedHawks 102-75 in their regular season meeting, trailed by double digits for much of Saturday's game. "I've been planning on this game, quite honestly, since January 26," Miami Head Coach Travis Steele said. "I knew we would be in this game. I knew who we'd be playing, more than likely, in order to win this league…I thought we had a great game plan, and I thought these guys did a great job executing it." Thriving on an early 3-point barrage (10 of 18) in the opening period, MU led by 18 before taking a 46-34 lead to intermission. The Zips were down 11 (58-47) when they . . . |
Editor-Publisher Mike SmithMike grew up in Mid-American Conference football and basketball territory and returned there after military service. He has been covering MAC football and men's basketball for much of the last several decades. 
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