The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Miami (Ohio)
Baseball Falls at Miami (Ohio) in Series Finale, 4-3
May 06 | Baseball
OXFORD, Ohio – The University of Akron baseball team fell to Miami (Ohio) by a count of 4-3 on Sunday at McKie Field.
Senior Sam Watkins had a pair of hits for Akron (17-30, 10-11 Mid-American Conference), while senior Dan Burant and sophomore Brandon Winter both tallied an RBI.
Starter Alex Loftin (3-2) allowed four runs over 5.2 innings in a losing effort on the hill. Senior Scott Foster tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Max Andresen, who totaled three RBI, led Miami (25-23, 10-11), while Dan Walsh batted 3-for-4 for the RedHawks. Charles Zubrod (3-3) went five innings to pick up the win.
Andresen's two-run homer put the RedHawks ahead in the second. Dan Walsh then flared a lead-off hit into left field to begin the fourth. The blooper tipped off the glove of Matt Rembielak as he raced out from short, allowing Walsh to move into second. After a sacrifice bunt, Walsh scored on an Andresen sacrifice fly to give Miami a 3-0 lead.
Four straight one-out hits got Akron on the board in the fifth. Samuel Trecaso started the rally with a double to left center and then scored on Winter's single up the middle. Winter moved around on the play, taking second on the throw and heading to third when Andresen's throw to second sailed into the outfield. Burant would single up the middle to bring in Winter. Rembielak kept the inning going when he doubled down the left field line to put two in scoring position with one out. Zubrod was able to then get back-to-back shallow fly outs to end the threat.
Ryan Brenner extended the Miami lead back to two when he scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth. Brenner had walked to start the inning, stole second, and moved to third on a ground out.
Akron missed a huge opportunity to cut into the Miami lead in the sixth, putting runners on second and third with nobody gone. Watkins led off with a single and Brady Stewart then drew a walk. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, reliever Joe Neff struck out Darius Washington and popped up Trecaso. Winter then walked to load the bases. Neff then struck out Burant with a pitch that sneaked under the glove of Andresen behind the plate. Andresen would retrieve the ball and make a diving tag on Watkins as he raced home from third.
Akron cut the deficit in half with a run in the eighth. Stewart and Trecaso walked to give UA a pair of base runners with one out. Pinch runner Jason McPeek and Trecaso moved up on a passed ball, before sidearm reliever Brandon Adkins struck out Winter with a pitch in the dirt that got away from Andresen. Andresen once again tagged out a runner at home on a strike out-wild pitch, this time eliminating McPeek. Another wild pitch by Adkins allowed Trecaso to score to make it a 4-3 game.
Akron has a pair of midweek games on the road this week, traveling to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and West Virginia on Wednesday. The Zips host Ohio next weekend in its final home series of the season.
Zips Notebook: Scott Foster's appearance was the 74th of his career, giving him sole possession of second on the UA career appearances list. He stands four appearances behind Benjamin Danziger.
