SETTING THE SCENE: The Cinderella tournament run for the Milford High School baseball team will continue in the OHSAA District Championship Game when the Eagles take to the field against Centerville on Saturday morning. The game will be contested at Western Hills High School with first pitch set for 10 a.m. The Eagles (20-10) advanced to districts after a stunning 3-0 upset of Moeller, Ohio’s No. 2 ranked team on Thursday. Centerville is 15-9 on the year, coming off a win over conference foe Northmont.

A LOOK BACK: May 18 vs. Moeller (OHSAA Tournament): Milford 3, Moeller 0

The junior duo of Evan Baugh and Kyle Music combined to allow the powerful Moeller offense just five hits as the Milford High School baseball team stunned the top-seeded Crusaders by a 3-0 final in OHSAA Sectional Final play on Thursday. With the victory, the Eagles have now earned a berth in Saturday’s District Championship game against Centerville.

Both teams had ample scoring opportunities throughout the contest, with the Eagles (20-10) finally breaking through in the fourth inning. With one out, Music drilled a double to center and two batters later, pinch-runner Sam Mills raced home on a Keith Carter RBI single to left.

Music took over for Baugh on the hill in the fifth and had to squirm out of a jam in his first inning of work. The wheels came off for the Moeller defense in the sixth inning as the Eagles took advantage of two Crusaders errors to plate two more runs. After leading off with a bunt single, Matt Kirk later came home on a two-base error off the bat of Sam Dobrowolski. Another Moeller miscue later in the inning allowed Dylan Stewart to score with the final marker of the game.

In the sixth, Moeller again threatened this time with two outs on a double and a walk, but Music induced an inning ending ground ball out to thwart the threat. Down to their final three outs, the Crusaders could do nothing in the seventh as Music set them down 1-2-3.

The final box score showed Baugh picking up the victory after four shutout innings and only three hits allowed. Music followed with three shutout frames for his second save. Kirk and Carter paced the offense with two hits each, while Music tacked on his early double.

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

• Saturday, May 20 vs. Centerville (at Western Hills HS), 10:00 a.m.
  • 2017 Record: 15-9, 7-5 GWOC
  • Top Hitter: Senior Alex Firsdon (.446/8 XBH/8 RBI/10 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Alex Firsdon (1.64 ERA/4-0 record/1 SV)
  • Last Meeting: 2016; Milford 3, Centerville 2

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders through 30 games:

Batting Average: Matt Kirk (.474), Kyle Music (.408), Wes Reid (.373)

Slugging Percentage: Matt Kirk (.758), Kyle Music (.563), Wes Reid (.520)

On Base Percentage: Matt Kirk (.549), Kyle Music (.481), Mitch Mierke/Wes Reid (.441)

Runs Scored: Evan Baugh/Wes Reid (30), Matt Kirk (28)

Hits: Matt Kirk (45), Wes Reid (38), Evan Baugh (31)

RBI: Matt Kirk (34), Wes Reid (20), Sam Dobrowolski/Mitch Mierke (19)

Doubles: Kyle Music (11), Wes Reid (10), Matt Kirk (7)

Triples: Matt Kirk (7), Kyle Minton (2), Four Tied (1)

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

Walks: Matt Kirk (17), Dylan Stewart (14), Three Tied (13)

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

Wins: Mitch Mierke (6), Evan Baugh (5), Tyler Barter/Joey Ciraci/Kyle Music (2)

Saves: Kyle Music (2), Keith Carter/Jared Dettmer (1)

ERA: Evan Baugh (1.91), Mitch Mierke (2.38), Kyle Music (3.53)

Innings: Evan Baugh (44.0), Kyle Music (37.2), Mitch Mierke (32.1)

Opponents Batting Average: Evan Baugh (.222), Mitch Mierke (.248), Kyle Music (.252)

Strikeouts: Kyle Music (42), Evan Baugh (36), Mitch Mierke (28)

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.