SETTING THE SCENE: The seventh-seeded Milford High School baseball team is set to open OHSAA Tournament play on Tuesday, when the Eagles welcome Eastern Cincinnati Conference rival Withrow to town. The Eagles have been red hot as of late, having won eight of their last nine outings, winning a share of the ECC Championship along the way. Milford actually faced Withrow twice last week during the final week of the regular season, outscoring the Tigers by a 37-0 score in the meetings. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. The winner will move on to take on the winner of No. 11 West Clermont and No. 31 Western Hills. Click here for Milford’s sectional bracket.

THE UPCOMING DOCKET: A look at Milford’s upcoming OHSAA Tournament opponent:

• Tuesday, May 8 vs. Withrow, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 1-17, 0-14 ECC (NR Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Keyandrey Davis (.385/3 XBH/5 RBI/11 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Keyandrey Davis (6.22 ERA/1-4 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2018; Milford 14, Withrow 0 & Milford 23, Withrow 0

A LOOK BACK: April 30 at Withrow: Milford 14, Withrow 0

GAME REWIND

After being held scoreless for the first two innings, Milford erupted for 14 runs over the final three frames to down Withrow by a 14-0 final. The Eagles plated four quick runs in the third, two coming on two-RBI triple by Calvin Hunter, then sent 11 hitters to the plate in the fourth and 10 in the fifth. The big hit of the fourth inning was a two-run double by Kyle Minton, while the fifth saw Milford take advantage of four walks and two Tigers’ errors.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 14-6, 10-3 ECC; Withrow: 0-15, 0-12 ECC

WP: Zach Byron; LP: Keyandrey Davis; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Zach Byron 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 7 SO

Kyle Minton 2 2B, 3 RBI

Mitch Mierke 2B, 3 R

Calvin Hunter 2-3, 3B, 3 RBI

Brady Sluder 3B

Withrow

None

May 1 vs. Western Brown: Milford 11, Western Brown 4

GAME REWIND

Milford broke open a 4-2 game with a five-run, fifth inning outburst, helping the Eagles to their fifth straight win, an 11-4 victory over Western Brown. Eleven Eagles strode to the plate in the big inning, with a two-run single by Anthony Bassano starting the scoring. Senior Tyler Barter put the final nail in the coffin in the sixth with a two-run single for the final scores of the day.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 15-6; Western Brown: 6-10

WP: Hunter Johnson; LP: Nick Sparrow; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Sam Roth 2 IP, 4 SO (varsity debut)

Calvin Hunter 2B

Brady Sluder 2-3, 3B, 3 R, 2 RBI

Kyle Minton 2-3, 2 RBI

Anthony Bassano 2-4, 2 RBI

Tyler Barter 2 RBI

Western Brown

None

May 2 vs. Withrow: Milford 23, Withrow 0

GAME REWIND

Milford enjoyed a Senior Day to remember as the Eagles wrapped up a share of the 2018 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Championship with a bang, routing Withrow by a 23-0 score. The contest was never in doubt after the first inning as the Eagles nearly batted around twice on their way to an 11-inning explosion. On the hill, seniors Mitch Mierke, Jared Dettmer, Alex Lutz and Owen Elsbernd combined to twirl a one-hit shutout.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 16-6, 11-3 ECC; Withrow: 0-16, 0-13 ECC

WP: Mitch Mierke; LP: Brandon Ellis; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Mitch Mierke 2 IP, 6 SO; 2-2, 2 RBI

Dylan Stewart 2B

Calvin Hunter 2B, 2 RBI

Brady Sluder 3 R

Kyle Minton 2B, 2 RBI

Dan Lutz 4 R, 2 RBI

Tyler Barter 2 RBI

Withrow

None

May 3 vs. Clinton-Massie: Milford 12, Clinton-Massie 0

GAME REWIND

Calvin Hunter hurled a two-hit shutout and helped himself at the plate with four RBI as Milford’s win streak reached seven with a 12-0 defeat of Clinton-Massie. The Eagles scored six runs each in the second and third innings in support of Hunter’s gem that also featured three strikeouts. At the dish, Hunter had a double among his pair of hits, while Kyle Minton tallied his first two triples of the year.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 17-6; Clinton-Massie: 10-9

WP: Calvin Hunter; LP: Bryan Kennedy; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Calvin Hunter 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 SO; 2-3, 2B, 4 RBI

Dylan Stewart 3-4, 2B

Brady Sluder 2 RBI

Kyle Minton 2 3B, 3 RBI

Clinton-Massie

None

May 4 at Highlands: Milford 7, Highlands 1

GAME REWIND

Milford hurlers Zach Byron, Jared Dettmer and Kyle Minton combined to allow Northern Kentucky’s No. 1 ranked team to just one unearned run and five hits as the Eagles picked up a 7-1 win at Highlands. Byron started and pitched two nearly perfect innings, before giving way to Dettmer who struck out five over three innings. Minton closed it out with two innings and four strikeouts.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 18-6; Highlands: 12-9

WP: Zach Byron; LP: Collin Hollingsworth; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Mitch Mierke 3B

Calvin Huner 2B

Dan Lutz 2 RBI

Highlands

Ethan Kavanaugh 2-4, 2B

May 5 at Mason: Mason 8, Milford 1

GAME REWIND

Milford ran into one of the area’s best pitchers in Ohio State commit Will Pfennig as the Eagles dropped an 8-1 decision to Mason. Pfennig was as advertised, yielding just one hit and two walks, while striking out 11 over 5.2 innings of shutout baseball. The Eagles got a run in the seventh, but ultimately left the bases loaded in coming up short.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 18-7; Mason: 21-5

WP: Will Pfennig; LP: Hunter Johnson; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Kyle Minton 1-2, BB, SB

Mason

Will Pfennig 5.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 11 SO

Cadin Neuhaus 2-4

Evan Haas 3-3, 3 R

Patrick Lantry 3 RBI

Jack Buckley 2 RBI

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

Batting Average: Calvin Hunter (.391), Kyle Minton (.379), Mitch Mierke (.356)

Slugging Percentage: Calvin Hunter (.578), Kyle Minton (.576), Brady Sluder (.493)

On Base Percentage: Kyle Minton (.512), Calvin Hunter (.446), Brady Sluder (.432)

Runs Scored: Kyle Minton (26), Dylan Stewart (25), Brady Sluder (24)

Hits: Mitch Mierke (31), Calvin Hunter/Kyle Minton/Dylan Stewart (25)

RBI: Brady Sluder (21), Anthony Bassano (20), Mitch Mierke (19)

Doubles: Kyle Minton (9), Mitch Mierke (8), Calvin Hunter (7)

Triples: Brady Sluder (5), Kyle Minton (2), Calvin Hunter/Mitch Mierke (1)

Home Runs: Anthony Bassano/Calvin Hunter/Hunter Johnson (1)

Walks: Kyle Minton (14), Brady Sluder (13), Dylan Stewart (12)

Stolen Bases: Dylan Stewart (10), Mitch Mierke/Kyle Minton (7)

Wins: Zach Byron (5), Mitch Mierke (4), Calvin Hunter (3)

Saves: Kyle Minton (3), Tyler Barter (1)

ERA: Mitch Mierke (0.58), Zach Byron (1.00), Calvin Hunter (1.33)

Innings: Zach Byron (28.0), Calvin Hunter (21.0), Jared Dettmer (16.1)

Opponents Batting Average: Calvin Hunter (.143), Zach Byron (.1811), Hunter Johnson (.233)

Strikeouts: Zach Byron (34), Calvin Hunter (23), Hunter Johnson (18)

INSIDE THE ECC: A wild final week of the regular season saw Milford and Loveland share the 2018 ECC Championship. Needing a pair of wins over West Clermont for a piece of the title, Loveland did just that, while Milford knocked off Withrow twice to secure the title.

The schedule for ECC teams in the tournament includes: No. 7 Milford vs. No. 33 Withrow (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Milford), No. 8 Loveland vs. No. 12 LaSalle (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Loveland), No. 11 West Clermont vs. No. 31 Western Hills (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at West Clermont), No. 13 Kings vs. No. 30 Western Brown (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Kings), No. 17 Anderson vs. No. 28 Middletown (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Anderson), No. 21 Walnut Hills vs. No. 27 Northwest (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Walnut Hills) and No. 23 Turpin vs. No. 19 Edgewood (May 8, 5:00 p.m. at Edgewood).

POLL WATCH: Milford took the No. 7 position in the final Cincinnati Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll. Mason was crowned the regular season poll champions, earning all 18 first place votes. The balance of the top-five was comprised of Lakota East, Moeller, Elder and Badin. The ECC is also represented by Loveland in ninth and West Clermont in 10^th, with Kings among those also receiving votes. The final poll can be viewed at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

COLLEGE BOUND EAGLES: Four seniors on the 2018 Eagles’ roster have already announced their intention to continue their athletic and academic careers on the collegiate level. Twin brothers Alex and Dan Lutz are headed to Thiel College, while Mitch Mierke will take his talents to Thomas More College and Dylan Stewart has committed to Fort Wayne University.