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RedHawks Tangle With Zips in Three-Game Set Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday
May 1, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
REDHAWKS HOST ZIPS IN PIVOTAL WEEKEND SERIES: After taking two of three games from Bowling Green last weekend, Miami welcomes Akron to McKie Field at Hayden Park for an important three-game set beginning Friday, May 2, at 6 p.m. Saturday's and Sunday's games are set to begin at 6 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. ABOUT THE ZIPS: The Zips lost a mid-week contest to Cleveland State, giving Akron a 20-18 overall record heading into this weekend's series. Last weekend, the Zips avoided a sweep versus Buffalo with a late-inning rally on Sunday, April 27, giving Akron a 5-7 MAC record. Kevin Haas owns a .358 batting average, which leads the team, but Doug McNulty is the Zips' top power threat. McNulty has a team-high 10 home runs this season, while driving in 31 runs. Frank Turocy is Akron's top hurler with a 4-2 record and a 3.34 ERA. Turocy has struck out 37 batters in 59.1 innings. THE SERIES WITH AKRON: Miami leads the all-time series 37-19 over the Zips and the RedHawks are 23-6 when playing Akron in Oxford. Last year, the RedHawks took two-of-three games from the Zips, including a 13-0 win in the rubber match. Miami has won six of the last seven meeting against Akron, with the lone loss coming in the series opener last season as Frank Turocy tossed a complete game. `83 BASEBALL ALUMNI RETURN: On Saturday, May 3, the 1983 Miami University baseball team will reunite in Oxford and celebrate its 25th anniversary of its run to the NCAA Tournament. The 1983 squad posted a record of 36-15, while sweeping Western Michigan, Ohio and Eastern Michigan to win the MAC Championship. From the 1983 team, two players, Scott Arnold (1981-84) and Mark Manering (1982-85) were drafted. Arnold was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1983 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1984, while Manering was drafted by the Yankees in 1986. NURRE MAKES IT ELEVEN: With hits in both games over Eastern Kentucky this week, junior Tommy Nurre extended his hitting streak to 11 games. During that stretch, Nurre is batting .477 with nine doubles and 11 RBIs. Nurre also boasts a slugging percentage of .682 and an on-base percentage of .554 during that time frame. Six conference games are included in Miami's last 11 contests and the Cincinnati native has been even more impressive in those games. In three games at Buffalo and three games versus Bowling Green, Nurre is batting .542 (13-for-24). Over that stretch, Nurre has recorded eight two-baggers, scored 10 runs and driven in six runs. Nurre's slugging percentage over that period is .875, while his on-base percentage is .613. Because of his last six MAC games, Nurre is now first in MAC-only play in doubles, second in on-base percentage, third in batting average, eighth in slugging percentage and ninth in hits. WELDON DELIVERS IN FIRST START: Freshman Kyle Weldon earned the first start of his career on Wednesday versus Eastern Kentucky and the Mason, Ohio native delivered. Weldon went 3-for-5 from the plate with four RBIs. Weldon smacked two-run singles in the first inning and the fifth inning, both with the bases loaded. In limited plate appearances, Weldon is batting .455 this season. MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Juniors Tommy Nurre and Jordan Petraitis have both had career years this season and both players moved onto the Miami single-season charts this week. On Tuesday, Nurre hit his 17th double of the season and the following night, Petraitis belted his 17th double of the season, moving both players into a tie for 10th place on the single-season doubles list. The most doubles hit by a RedHawk in a single season was 21 by Keith O'Hea in 1988. FRIDAY'S GAME CARRIED ON MSNi: The opening game of Miami's Mid-American Conference series against Akron on Friday, May 2 will be carried on the Miami Sports Network Internet Channel. Randy Hollowell has the call beginning at 6 p.m.. CAREER AVERAGES AGAINST AKRON: 11 RedHawks players have atleast had one at-bat against the Zips. Collectively, the 11 Miami players that have had at-bats against Akron have a batting average of .305. On the mound, the RedHawks have seven players that have pitched against Akron and they own a combined ERA of 2.03. No. Name Avg. HR RBI H AB GP 31 Tommy Nurre 1.000 1 2 1 1 1 16 J.D. Mynhier 1.000 0 1 1 1 1 14 Chris Rodriguez 1.000 0 0 1 1 2 11 Nate Halm 1.000 0 0 1 1 1 8 Blake Chaffee .429 0 0 3 7 2 20 Eric Darlage .400 1 6 4 10 6 7 Jordan Petraitis .333 0 1 7 21 6 10 Chris Nadeau .300 0 3 3 10 5 13 Ben Eubank .250 0 0 1 4 3 17 Josh Hula .200 0 1 1 5 2 6 Evan Armitage .095 0 0 2 21 6
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