Miami University Middletown’s baseball team overcame a familiar obstacle this weekend.
Meanwhile, Miami-Hamilton took an uncharacteristic backseat in Miami University’s regional campus rivalry.
The ThunderHawks won three of four games against the Harriers, marking the first time since 1999 that Miami-Middletown has swept a series between the two programs.
“We started three freshman pitchers in three of the games against our archrival, and we won two of those three with our freshman guys,” ThunderHawks coach Mark Adams said. “We finally have our freshmen pitchers believing in what we do.”
The ThunderHawks had two total wins against the Harriers since 2011. MUH owns a 42-9 record versus MUM since 1999.
Miami-Middletown (13-6) has won five of its last six amid a couple weather cancelations and is ranked 12th in the latest United States Collegiate Athletic Association poll.
The ThunderHawks split with the Harriers at home on Friday and took both games of a doubleheader on Sunday at Foundation Field.
Adams said MUM’s pitching staff turned the corner about two weeks ago to help lead to its recent string of success.
“I challenged them,” Adams said. “I challenged them, ‘Stop pitching for yourself. Pitch for your dudes out there. They’re going to make plays. This isn’t about the scoreboard, it’s about playing for each other.’
“That’s the cultural difference in this team in the last two or three weeks. Look, we’re young, and young guys can be a little selfish sometimes — especially pitchers. They think they have to do everything. The more they think they have to do everything, the more balls they throw — instead of pitching for their team versus pitching for themselves. That’s why we’re getting better.”
Miami-Hamilton sits at 9-17 and is looking to finish the regular season on the right track.
“We’re not playing great baseball at the moment,” Harriers coach Tyler Thamann said. “We look really good every day in practice. We do everything right, and I just don’t know what happens in the games. I don’t know if it’s just nerves or if it’s I scare them out there. We average three or four errors a game, and that’s been killing us.
“We’ve got some younger guys that have developed through the fall and are going to keep developing into really good players,” Thamann added. “Hopefully, we can bring enough recruits in for next fall when we get rid of our seniors and fill those holes. Communication’s gotten better. It started out horrendous at the beginning of the year.
“We hit the crap out of the ball during games, but it’s right to guys, and that’s just killed us.”
Miami-Hamilton, which started off the season 0-8, has 12 games remaining on its schedule. Miami-Middletown still has seven left to play.
“Everyone just loves each other on this team,” said MUM second baseman Kaden Davidson, an Edgewood graduate who collected four total hits on Sunday. “We’ve all been rallying around each other. When we string some hits together, you can see that energy in the dugout just come out from everyone.
“We’ve definitely got teammates that we can trust from top to bottom.”
The USCAA Small College World Series takes place May 11-16 in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Miami-Hamilton’s roster — which did not list graduating high schools — includes Wyatt Anderson, Stephen Stigler, Anthony Treinen, Cade Combs, Zack Birch, Shane Keys, Thomas Boster, Mac Durban, Austin Fouts, Mason Ball, Jake Westerkamp, Brandon McGeorge, Dale Ellis, Sean Miller, Parker Geshan, Brady Lovell, Dylan Hart, Ty Kiehl, Tanner Smith, Jack Harris, Jack Feth, Logan Vogelgesang, Carson Sexton, Jake Pera, Carson Dyer and Josiah Carter.
The Harriers are coached by Tyler Thamann and assisted by Jordan Maurer and Adam Dearinger.
Miami-Middletown’s roster includes Braylon Bailey (Middletown), Jake Lange (Edgewood), Brock Vaughn (Miamisburg), Kaden Davidson (Edgewood), Robby Adams (Fenwick), RJ Anderson (Middletown), Jack Renaud (Mason), Lake Von Bargen (Fenwick), Aiden Sargent (Monroe), Ethan Gagliardo (Lakota East), Hunter Barnhill (Lynchburg-Clay), Gunnar Byrd (Lakota East), Mark Maruca (Centerville), Lukas Hudler (Harrison), Jordan Zapata (Hamilton), Carter Sansone (Colerain), Ryan Maloney (Princeton), Kolby Millard (Carlisle), Cournell Bennett McCoy (Hamilton), Kevin Denry (Franklin), Isaac Shults (Franklin) and Ammon Vaughn (Springboro).
The ThunderHawks are coached by Mark Adams and assisted by Tyree Foster, Mitchell Lawson and Joshua Lowe.
