OXFORD, Ohio – The Milwaukee baseball team was unable to take advantage of a pair of strong efforts from both starting pitchers, falling to Miami (Ohio) in a doubleheader by scores of 5-2 and 2-1 Saturday at McKie Field.
The Panthers (1-13) battled the Redhawks (6-6) evenly all day, but a late rally for the home team helped them claim the win in extra innings in the opener and three runs in the first inning essentially stood up in the nightcap.
"I feel like it was a waste of two quality starts today," head coach
Scott Doffek said. "Our inability to focus and ultimately compete is what is killing us. I apologized to the team, because ultimately, that falls on me. This is not how we compete here … I obviously have to do better."
Outside of a rocky first inning where he allowed three runs, game two starter
Mike Edwards was on cruise control for a stretch after that. He faced the minimum in innings 2-3-4, with a one-out single in the fifth breaking up a streak of 10 in a row.
That came after MKE had grabbed its second consecutive first-inning lead, with
Zach Nogalski driving in
Mitchell Buban in the top of the first with a two-out single to left center.
The Panthers could not get the bats going the rest of the way, however, with Miami recording 13 K's in the second game. MKE added a run in the ninth, bringing in the final score in the 5-2 decision.
Nogalski and
Jack Kraus led the offense, each with a 2-for-3 effort;
Nate DeYoung had a triple.
The Panthers couldn't quite put away an impressive 1-0 lead they held from the first inning on in game one, with the Redhawks tying the game in the bottom of the eighth before winning it in the 10th on a walk-off single.
They again scored right away in the first. Buban reached on a one-out error, then
Joe Vyskocil and Nogalski followed with singles, with Nogalski plating his team-leading seventh RBI for the good start.
The Panthers came close in their half of the 10th, getting runners to second and third on a double by Buban, but could not get the go-ahead run home.
Milwaukee got a great performance from start
Jack Mahoney, who finished the day with a career-best seven strikeouts in his six-plus innings of scoreless work.
Mahoney left with the 1-0 lead after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh.
George Swedie came in and worked in-and-out of trouble, with an error and a walk loading the bases with no outs. Swedie followed with a K and a 3-2-3 double play to get out of it.
MKE got a terrific play to send it to extra innings, with a relay from Nogalski in right to
Mike Ferri to
Jack Thelen cutting down what would have been the game-winner from crossing, ending the Miami ninth.
Sam Bachman helped the Redhawks cause with 12 K's in 8.0 innings.
Vyskocil and Ferri each contributed 2-hit outings to pace the way in game one.
The two teams wrap up the weekend series with a 12 p.m. CST first pitch Sunday.
