Miami Routs Ball State 8-1 05.24.2018 MAC Baseball Championship Central Official Bracket No. 2 Miami 8, No. 3 Ball State 1 Boxscore Video: Miami Head Coach Danny Hayden Video: Miami RHP Shane Smith AVON Ohio - The Miami baseball team opened the Mid-American Conference Tournament with an 8-1 win over Ball State Thursday evening. With the victory, the RedHawks advance to the winner's bracket final against Kent State Friday at 6 p.m. Junior pitcher Shane Smith got the start on the mound for Miami and was dominant in eight innings of work, allowing no runs and just seven hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Jacob Banks tossed the ninth inning for the `Hawks, surrendering one run on two hits. View image on Twitter Miami got off to a quick start with a pair of runs in the first. Cristian Tejada singled through the left side to lead off the frame and got to second thanks to an error on a failed pickoff attempt. Ross Haffey then drew a walk and Hayden Senger reached via an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. Landon Stephens followed with an infield single of his own, driving in Tejada. After a strikeout, Kyle Winkler was struck by a pitch to bring in another MU run to make it 2-0 after one. The Red & White added two more runs in the second. Adrian Texidor worked a walk after falling down 0-2 in the count, got to second on a wild pitch and promptly scored on a Tejada double to the gap in right. Haffey followed by earning his second base on balls in as many at bats. He and Tejada then took second and third, respectively, thanks to a wild pitch. Two more walks drawn by Stephens and Will Vogelgesang plated another run and widened the Miami margin to 4-0 after just two innings of play. The `Hawks were hardly done, striking for three more tallies in the third. Cal Elvers drew a leadoff walk, took second on a dropped third strike during Texidor's at bat and got to third courtesy of a Tejada base hit. With runners on the corners, back-to-back walks scored Elvers before a Stephens base knock brought home Tejada. MU's final run of the frame came when Senger scored from second on an errant throw into the outfield after Haffey was caught in a rundown dancing off of third. The RedHawks held a 7-0 lead three full innings. Miami would add one more run in the fifth. With Haffey standing on third, Vogelgesang legged out an infield single to make it 8-0. Ball State's lone run came in the top of the ninth when a leadoff solo shot cut the lead to 8-1.
