SETTING THE SCENE: With the OHSAA Tournament on the near horizon and rain having played havoc over the last week, the Milford High School baseball team has added a pair of contests to its docket in preparation for its tournament opener later this week. The Eagles have won six of their last seven outings to enter this week with a 16-8 overall record. The late season surge also helped the team finish in a tie for third in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference at 8-6. This week begins with a Sunday matinee at home against Cincinnati Country Day on the heels of a trip to St. Xavier on Monday. Then, its tournament time when the 13^th-seeded Eagles host No. 31 Winton Woods on Tuesday.

A LOOK BACK: May 1 at Withrow: Milford 16, Withrow 2

The Eagles sent 15 men to the plate and scored 10 first-inning runs en route to a 16-2 thrashing of Withrow. In the five inning contest, the Eagles pounded out 14 hits, including seven for extra base hits.

THE BATS

Milford got big contributions from the bottom third of the line-up as the threesome of Chase Witte, Brady Sluder and Mitch Mierke each went 2-for-3 and combined for five runs scored and five RBI. Sluder and Kyle Minton each had a triple, while five other Eagles tallied a double. Kyle Music had three RBI as did Keith Carter.

THE ARMS

Carter made his first start on the mound of the season and responded with a stellar four-inning outing. The senior struck out six, while allowing just two runs on five hits. George Lucas followed his senior classmate to the bump and tossed one perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts.

May 2 at Clinton-Massie: Milford 5, Clinton-Massie 1

Junior Kyle Music turned in his best outing of the season on the mound and the Eagles snapped a scoreless tie with a three-run fifth inning as they bested Clinton-Massie by a 5-1 score. The victory was the Eagles fifth non-conference win in a row.

THE BATS

Matt Kirk had the biggest hit of the day for the Eagles as he connected on a two-run fifth inning homerun. His long ball was part of a 2-for-4, three RBI performance for the Morehead State-bound senior. Evan Baugh added three hits, including a triple, while Wes Reid and Music each added a double.

THE ARMS

Music was brilliant on the hill, hurling five shutout frames before allowing a single run in the sixth. For the day, the junior allowed just one walk and five hits, while striking out nine. Tyler Barter pitched a scoreless seventh to close out the day.

May 3 vs. Withrow: Milford 11, Withrow 1

For the second time in three games, the Eagles put together a 10-run inning, this time storming Withrow for 10 runs in an 11-1 victory. The big inning saw 14 Eagles stride to the plate as Milford finished the Eastern Cincinnati Conference season with an 8-6 record.

THE BATS

The Eagles took advantage of nine Withrow walks and finished with just seven hits. Evan Baugh collected a pair of hits, while scoring three times. Matt Kirk also had a pair of hits, while Sam Dobrowolski had a double. He, along with Mitch Mierke and Keith Carter each drove in a pair.

THE ARMS

The trio of Baugh, George Lucas and Joey Ciraci combined on a one-hitter with Baugh improving to 3-1 with the victory. The junior struck out four before giving way to Lucas and Ciraci who each tossed a perfect frame.

THE UPCOMING DOCKET: A look at Milford’s schedule for the upcoming week:

• Sunday, May 7 vs. Cincinnati Country Day, 2:00 p.m.
  • 2017 Record: 17-4, 12-1 MVC (3^rd Division II-IV area coaches’ final weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Ronnie Allen (.618/12 XBH/24 RBI/4 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Cameron Davis (1.37 ERA/4-2 record/0 SV)
  • Last Meeting: N/A
• Monday, May 8 at St. Xavier, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2017 Record: 14-3, 7-1 GCL (4^th Division I area coaches’ final weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Alex Markley (.471/8 XBH/12 RBI/0 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Junior Nathan Klappers (0.75 ERA/5-1 record/0 SV)
  • Last Meeting: 2016; Milford 4, St. Xavier 2
• Tuesday, May 9 vs. Winton Woods, 5:00 p.m. {OHSAA Tournament}
  • 2017 Record: 5-17 (NR Division I area coaches’ final weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Jack Schramm (.371/9 XBH/12 RBI/17 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Jack Schramm (3.65 ERA/1-2 record/0 SV)
  • Last Meeting: 2010; Milford 14, Winton Woods 1 & Milford 19, Winton Woods 1

TOURNEY TALK: The Eagles have earned the No. 13 seed in the Cincinnati sectionals of the OHSAA Tournament, as voted on by the area coaches. The Eagles will open the tournament at home on Tuesday, May 9, hosting No. 31 Winton Woods. Should the Eagles advance, they will take on the winner of No. 11 Anderson and No. 17 Hamilton. Click here for Milford’s sectional bracket.

The schedule for ECC teams in the tournament includes: No. 5 Loveland vs. winner of No. 15 Elder-No. 32 Withrow (May 11, 5:00 p.m. at Loveland), No. 11 Anderson vs. No. 17 Hamilton (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Anderson), No. 12 Kings vs. No. 23 Little Miami (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Kings), No. 13 Milford vs. No. 31 Winton Woods (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Milford), No. 16 Walnut Hills vs. No. 26 Amelia (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Walnut Hills), No. 22 Turpin vs. No. 21 Edgewood (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Edgewood), No. 24 Glen Este vs. No. 10 Lakota East (May 9, 5:00 p.m. at Lakota East).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders through 23 games:

Batting Average: Matt Kirk (.468), Kyle Music (.423), Evan Baugh (.384)

Slugging Percentage: Matt Kirk (.753), Kyle Music (.558), Wes Reid (.530)

On Base Percentage: Matt Kirk (.538), Kyle Music (.500), Evan Baugh (.453)

Runs Scored: Evan Baugh (29), Wes Reid (25), Matt Kirk (23)

Hits: Matt Kirk (36), Wes Reid (29), Evan Baugh (28)

RBI: Matt Kirk (28), Wes Reid/Brady Sluder (17)

Doubles: Wes Reid (10), Kyle Music (7), Matt Kirk (6)

Triples: Matt Kirk (5), Five Tied (1)

Home Runs: Matt Kirk (2)/Wes Reid (1)

Walks: Matt Kirk (13), Keith Carter/Sam Dobrowolski/Chase Witte (11)

Stolen Bases: Matt Kirk (5), Keith Carter (4), Wes Reid/Dylan Stewart (3)

Wins: Mitch Mierke (5), Evan Baugh (3), /Tyler Barter/Joey Ciraci (2)

Saves: Keith Carter/Jared Dettmer (1)

ERA: Mitch Mierke (1.73), Evan Baugh (1.94), Kyle Music (4.15)

Innings: Evan Baugh (36.0), Kyle Music (28.2), Mitch Mierke (24.1)

Opponents Batting Average: Evan Baugh (.219), Mitch Mierke (.225), Kyle Music (.254)

Strikeouts: Kyle Music (35), Evan Baugh (29), Mitch Mierke (18)

POLL WATCH: Milford continued to receive votes in the final edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s area Division I coaches’ poll, released on May 1. Moeller won the poll championship, securing 12 of the 20 first place votes cast. The balance of the top-five showed Fairfield (two votes), Lakota West (four votes), St. Xavier (two votes) and Loveland from the ECC. The league is also represented by Kings, Anderson and Walnut Hills all joining the Eagles in others receiving votes. The final coaches’ poll can be viewed at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

COLLEGE BOUND EAGLES: A trio of seniors on the 2017 Eagles’ roster have already announced their intention to continue their athletic and academic careers on the collegiate level. Joey Ciraci will attend will attend Bluffton University, while Matt Kirk has signed a National Letter of Intent at Morehead State University. George Lucas is on his way to Wilmington College.