SETTING THE SCENE: With rain continuing to be the big winner of the spring to date, the Milford High School baseball team will look to build on a 3-1 start with a five-game week chalk full of league action. The Eagles have jumped to a 2-0 start in conference play and will look to stay amongst the Eastern Cincinnati Conference front runners with single games against Loveland and Anderson and a home-and-home against West Clermont in the days ahead. The week is scheduled to conclude on the turf at the University of Cincinnati’s Marge Schott Stadium for a Cincinnati Reds Futures Showcase match-up with Lakota West next Saturday.

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

• Monday, April 9 vs. Loveland, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 4-4, 2-1 ECC (RV Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Sophomore Carson Deer (.522/4 XBH/5 RBI/0 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Junior Zach Segal (0.70 ERA/1-1 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2018; Milford 6, Loveland 0
• Tuesday, April 10 vs. Anderson, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 1-2, 0-2 ECC (NR Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Junior Jack Crider & Senior Sam Priede (.500/0 XBH/0 RBI/0 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Josh Rose (0.00 ERA/1-0 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2018; Milford 13, Anderson 3
• Wednesday, April 11 vs. West Clermont, 5:00 p.m. & Friday, April 13 at West Clermont, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 7-5, 1-1 ECC (T-10^th Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Junior Bailey Bravo (.346/3 XBH/4 RBI/5 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Senior Cole Ayers (0.78 ERA/1-1 record)
  • Last Meeting: First Meeting
• Saturday, April 14 vs. Lakota West {at UC’s Marge Schott Stadium}, 4:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 5-2, 4-1 GMC (4^th Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Sophomore Alex Jarboe (.600/1 XBH/6 RBI/1 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Junior Nicolas Wiles (0.00 ERA/0-0 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2007; Lakota West 10, Milford 0 & Lakota West 11, Milford 5

A LOOK BACK: April 5 at Anderson: Milford 13, Anderson 3

GAME REWIND

Milford sent 11 men to the plate as part of a seven-run second inning, leading the way for a 13-3 Eagles’ triumph over Anderson. Brady Sluder had the big hit of the inning, a two-RBI triple and then one inning later the junior had another big knock, this time a two-run double. On the hill, senior Tyler Barter relieved starter Evan Baugh and hurled three shutout innings to pick up his first victory of 2018.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 2-1, 1-0 ECC; Anderson: 1-1, 0-1 ECC

WP: Tyler Barter; LP: Josh Rose; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Mitch Mierke 3-3, 2 R, 3 RBI

Brady Sluder 2-4, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI

Calvin Hunter 2-4, 2B

Kyle Minton 2-2, 3 R, 2B, SB

Tyler Barter 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 SO

Anderson

Mason Kniskern 2B

April 6 at Loveland: Milford 6, Loveland 0

GAME REWIND

Zach Byron and Kyle Minton combined on a four-hit shutout as the Eagles improved to 2-0 in Eastern Cincinnati Conference action with 6-0 win at Loveland. On a windy day, Byron picked up his first career victory with five sparkling innings, allowing only two hits and a pair of walks, while striking out five. Milford got a second inning run, but then blew the game open with five runs over the last three innings to pull away.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 3-1, 2-0 ECC; Loveland: 4-4, 2-1 ECC

WP: Zach Byron; LP: Kaid Milam; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Zach Byron 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 SO

Calvin Hunter 2-4

Evan Baugh 2-2

Loveland

Carson Deer 2-3

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

Batting Average: Mitch Mierke (.357), Calvin Hunter/Dylan Stewart (.308)

Slugging Percentage: Anthony Bassano (.667), Brady Sluder (.417), Calvin Hunter (.385)

On Base Percentage: Grant Whitaker (.500), Mitch Mierke/Dylan Stewart (.438)

Runs Scored: Cameron Hemmert/Kyle Minton/Grant Whitaker (4)

Hits: Mitch Mierke (5), Calvin Hunter/Dylan Stewart (4)

RBI: Mitch Mierke/Cameron Hemmert/Brady Sluder (4)

Doubles: Four Tied (1)

Triples: Brady Sluder (1)

Home Runs: Anthony Bassano (1)

Walks: Grant Whitaker (3), Eight Tied (2)

Stolen Bases: Kyle Minton (2), Four Tied (1)

Wins: Tyler Barter/Zach Byron/Calvin Hunter (1)

Saves: None

ERA: Zach Byron/Calvin Hunter (0.00), Tyler Barter (1.75)

Innings: Evan Baugh/Zach Byron (6.0), Calvin Hunter (5.0)

Opponents Batting Average: Calvin Hunter (.063), Zach Byron (.111), Tyler Barter (.214)

Strikeouts: Zach Byron (7), Calvin Hunter (6), Tyler Barter/Evan Baugh (4)

INSIDE THE ECC: With rain causing havoc on schedules across Southwest Ohio, Kings and Milford have jumped to the early top of the conference standings. Kings is 3-0 (9-0 overall), with Milford 2-0. The schedule for ECC conference games this week includes: Monday-Loveland at Milford, West Clermont at Turpin, Walnut Hills at Withrow and Kings at Anderson; Tuesday-Anderson at Milford and West Clermont at Walnut Hills; Wednesday-West Clermont at Milford, Walnut Hills at Turpin, Withrow at Anderson and Kings at Loveland; Friday-Milford at West Clermont, Turpin at Walnut Hills, Andeson at Withrow and Loveland at Kings.

POLL WATCH: Milford made a huge jump in the weekly Cincinnati Enquirer area coaches’ poll, climbing from others receiving votes all the way to fifth. Mason remains the heavy favorite with 14 of the 18 first place votes that were cast. Moeller (one vote), Elder (two votes) and Lakota West make up the rest of the top-five ahead of Milford. St. Xavier, ranked eighth, also received a first place vote. The ECC is also represented by Kings in sixth, West Clermont in a tie for 10^th and Loveland among others receiving votes. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

COLLEGE BOUND EAGLES: A trio of 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.