SETTING THE SCENE: Locked in a battle for its sixth conference championship in the last seven years, the Milford High School baseball team is back on the diamond this week with a trio of Eastern Cincinnati Conference match-ups. The Eagles bring a 10-5 overall record and a 7-2 conference mark into a week that features a home-and-home series with Kings and a trip to Walnut Hills. Milford is tied for No. 1 in the league with Loveland.

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

• Wednesday, April 25 at Kings, 5:00 p.m. & Friday, April 27 vs. Kings, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 13-6, 7-4 ECC (RV Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Gavin McGaughey (.481/11 XBH/25 RBI/8 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Junior Hunter Jessee (0.58 ERA/2-1 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2017; Kings 1, Milford 0 & Milford 3, Kings 0
• Thursday, April 26 at Walnut Hills {at Roselawn Park Field #2}, 5:00 p.m.
  • 2018 Record: 8-9, 4-5 ECC (NR Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
  • Top Hitter: Senior Elijah Wales (.425/5 XBH/8 RBI/3 SB)
  • Top Pitcher: Junior Andrew Casagrande (2.47 ERA/1-1 record)
  • Last Meeting: 2017; Walnut Hills 2, Milford 1 & Milford 13, Walnut Hills 4

• Saturday, April 28 at Centerville, 10:00 a.m.
• 2018 Record: 8-6, 4-2 GWOC
• Top Hitter: Senior Riley Poulton (.333/3 XBH/3 RBI/6 SB)
• Top Pitcher: Junior Jared Lieberman (0.82 ERA/1-2 record)
• Last Meeting: 2017; Centerville 2, Milford 1 

A LOOK BACK: April 9 vs. Loveland: Milford 8, Loveland 6

GAME REWIND

Brady Sluder connected on the game-winning hit, a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Eagles to an 8-6 win over Loveland. On a cold day for baseball, miscues abounded by both squads with the Tigers plating three runs in the top of fourth to take a 6-5 lead. Sluder then came through with the go-ahead runs two innings later, with the junior then racing home one batter later on an RBI single by Sam Mills.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 4-1, 3-0 ECC; Loveland: 4-5, 2-2 ECC

WP: Tyler Barter; LP: Zach Segal; Save: Kyle Minton

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Dylan Stewart 2B, 2 R

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

Tyler Barter 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 SO

Loveland

Carson Deer 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

Tripp Willis 2B

Ryan Lake 2-4

Tyler Dombroski 2B

April 10 at Milford: Milford 9, Anderson 1

GAME REWIND

Junior Calvin Hunter was brilliant on the mound, allowing just one run and two hits with eight strikeouts in five innings of work, leading Milford to a 9-1 win over conference rival Anderson. Leading 1-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth, Milford put four more on the board, two coming on a Dylan Stewart two-run double. The Eagles really put the game out of reach with two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 5-1, 4-0 ECC; Anderson: 2-4, 0-4 ECC

WP: Calvin Hunter; LP: Tyler Compton; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Calvin Hunter 5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 SO

Dylan Stewart 3-4, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI

Evan Baugh 2-4, 2B

Mitch Mierke 2-4

Brady Sluder 2-4, 2B

Kyle Minton 2B

Loveland

None

April 11 at Milford: Milford 7, West Clermont 5

GAME REWIND

Milford scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back, earning its sixth consecutive victory a 7-5 triumph over West Clermont. Anthony Bassano got the Eagles on the board with a two-run single to start the scoring, providing what proved to be the final margin. The Wolves clawed back to 5-3 in the top of the third and 6-5 in the fifth but could get no closer. Eagles’ sophomore hurler Zach Byron was solid once again before turning the ball over to senior Tyler Barter who retired all nine batters that he faced to earn his first save.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 6-1, 5-0 ECC; West Clermont: 8-9, 2-3 ECC

WP: Zach Byron; LP: Cole Ayers; Save: Tyler Barter

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Tyler Barter 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H

Dylan Stewart 3 RBI

Anthony Bassano 2-2, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

West Clermont

Gavin Pitts 2-4, 2 RBI

Tyler Steinker 2 RBI

April 12 at Milford: St. Xavier 9, Milford 1

GAME REWIND

St. Xavier broke open a close game, taking advantage of four walks and three errors in a five-run sixth inning to take a 9-1 non-conference win over the Eagles. Milford scored first in the second inning on a Cade Riesenberg RBI double, but the Bombers scored nine straight runs from there to take the victory.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 6-2; St. Xavier: 6-4

WP: Justin Shanks; LP: Hunter Johnson; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Mitch Mierke 2-4

Cade Riesenberg 2B

St. Xavier

Grant Kirby 2B

Tucker Hundley 2-4, 2B

Michael Grause 2B

Mitchell Lutz 2B

Justin Shanks 3 IP, 1 H, 1 SO

April 13 at West Clermont: West Clermont 8, Milford 6

GAME REWIND

West Clermont’s Tyler Steinker hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the Wolves to an 8-6 win over the Eagles. After a back-and-forth battle throughout, Milford tied the game in the top of the seventh on back-to-back RBI doubles by Mitch Mierke and Brady Sluder. But after a lead off walk to start the seventh, Steinker went deep to give West Clermont a split of the season match-ups with the Eagles.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 6-3, 5-1 ECC; West Clermont: 9-9, 3-3 ECC

WP: Tyler Steinker; LP: Evan Baugh; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Dylan Stewart 2-3, 2B

Mitch Mierke 2B, 2 RBI

Brady Sluder 2B

West Clermont

Cal Conley 3-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI

Tyler Steinker 3-4, HR, 3 RBI

April 14 at UC’s Marge Schott Stadium: Milford 10, Lakota West 2

GAME REWIND

Milford picked up a key non-conference victory on the turf at UC’s Marge Schott Stadium as the Eagles knocked off Lakota West 10-2 in a Reds Futures Showcase contest. A five-run second inning was all the three Milford hurlers would need as the Eagle offense banged out 14 hits on the afternoon.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 7-3; Lakota West: 8-5

WP: Mitch Mierke; LP: Ryan Jones; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Evan Baugh 2B

Mitch Mierke 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; 2 IP, 3 SO

Brady Sluder 2-4

Kyle Minton 3-4, 3 R

Cade Riesenberg 2-3

Sam Greenwell 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI

Anthony Bassano 2 IP, 0 H

Lakota West

Bryce Johnson 2-3, HR

Alex Jarobe 2-3, 2B

April 17 at Turpin: Milford 2, Turpin 0

GAME REWIND

Zach Byron and Kyle Minton combined on a six-hit shutout as the Eagles knocked off Turpin, 2-0. Milford got the all the offense it would need with a Brady Sluder sac fly in the first and an error courtesy of a Spartan error in the fourth. On the mound, Byron and Minton combined to strike out nine in the win.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 8-3, 6-1 ECC; Turpin: 3-9, 2-5 ECC

WP: Zach Byron; LP: Jake Silverstein; Save: Kyle Minton

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Zach Byron 6 IP, 7 SO

Anthony Bassano 2-3

Turpin

Nick McLaughlin 3-3

April 18 at Milford: Turpin 8, Milford 7

GAME REWIND

One day after being shutout on six hits, Turpin got a measure of revenge on Milford with an 8-7 ECC victory. The setback, just Milford’s fourth of the season, marked the third time the Eagles have fallen by two runs or less. Turpin put up a five spot in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead, but Milford countered with four in the third to reclaim the lead at 6-5. Turpin then pushed across two in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 8-4, 6-2 ECC; Turpin: 4-9, 3-5 ECC

WP: Noah Wagner; LP: Evan Baugh; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Mitch Mierke 2-4, 2B

Kyle Minton 2B

Turpin

Justin Silverstein 2B, 2 RBI

Nick McLaughlin 2-3

Jake Silverstein 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Colin Bernard 2-4

Lucas Smith 2-3, 2 RBI

April 19 at Milford: Milford 6, Walnut Hills 4

GAME REWIND

Senior Mitch Mierke won his second straight start on the mound and added two hits and a pair of RBI at the plate, leading Milford to a 6-4 win over Walnut Hills. Kyle Minton came out of the Milford bullpen to log two perfect innings to secure the win for Mierke.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 9-4, 7-2 ECC; Walnut Hills: 6-9, 4-5 ECC

WP: Mitch Mierke; LP: Ben Moore; Save: Kyle Minton

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Dylan Stewart 2-4, 2B

Mitch Mierke 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; 2 IP, 1 SO

Calvin Hunter 2-3, HR, 2 RBI

Kyle Minton 2 IP, 0 H

Walnut Hills

Elijah Wales 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI

Max Davenport 2-3

Leo Magoto 2B

April 20 at Milford: Milford 8, Chippewa Valley (MI) 5

GAME REWIND

Milford scored three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings and six Eagles’ hurlers combined to keep Chippewa Valley (MI) in check as the Eagles scored an 8-5 victory. Mitch Mierke led the way with three hits and a pair of RBI, while Alex Lutz picked up the pitching victory.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 10-4; Chippewa Valley: N/A

WP: Alex Lutz; LP: Carlisi; Save: None

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Dylan Stewart 3 R

Mitch Mierke 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Kyle Minton 2-3, 2B

Chippewa Valley

Naidus 2-4, 2 RBI

Fredrick 2B

April 21 at Great American Ball Park: Lakota East 12, Milford 8

GAME REWIND

In a once in a lifetime opportunity to play at the Cincinnati Reds’ home, Great American Ball Park, Milford rallied from an 8-0 deficit, but ultimately fell 12-8 to Lakota East. The Thunderhawks put up eight runs in the third, but Milford got three back in the fourth and five more in the fifth to tie the game. East had one more big inning ready as three markers in the fifth were the difference.

RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS

Milford: 10-5; Lakota East: 11-3

WP: Dylan Smith; LP: Kyle Minton; Save: Mitchell Reardon

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Calvin Hunter 2-4, 2 R

Brady Sluder 3B, 3 RBI

Sam Greenwell 3 RBI

Anthony Bassano 2 RBI

Lakota East

Will Koger 2-4, 2 RBI

Jack Willms 2-3, 3 RBI

Mitchell Reardon 2-3

Mitchell Vincent 2-2, 2B, 3 R

Devon Milburn 2B, 2 RBI

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

Batting Average: Mitch Mierke (.377), Dylan Stewart (.340), Kyle Minton (.325)

Slugging Percentage: Brady Sluder (.488), Mitch Mierke (.472), Kyle Minton (.425)

On Base Percentage: Kyle Minton (.449), Dylan Stewart (.441), Mitch Mierke (.424)

Runs Scored: Dylan Stewart (19), Kyle Minton (17), Brady Sluder (11)

Hits: Mitch Mierke (20), Dylan Stewart (17), Kyle Minton (13)

RBI: Brady Sluder (15), Mitch Mierke (14), Anthony Bassano (12)

Doubles: Mitch Mierke (5), Kyle Minton/Dylan Stewart (4)

Triples: Brady Sluder (3)

Home Runs: Anthony Bassano/Calvin Hunter (1)

Walks: Dylan Stewart (8), Three Tied (7)

Stolen Bases: Dylan Stewart (8), Mitch Mierke/Kyle Minton (3)

Wins: Zach Byron (3), Three Tied (2)

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

ERA: Zach Byron (1.24), Kyle Minton (1.91), Calvin Hunter (2.15)

Innings: Zach Byron (17.0), Evan Baugh (15.2), Calvin Hunter (13.0)

Opponents Batting Average: Calvin Hunter (.178), Zach Byron (.233), Kyle Minton (.262)

Strikeouts: Zach Byron (21), Calvin Hunter (18), Evan Baugh (14)

INSIDE THE ECC: As the regular season starts to wind down, Milford finds itself tied for the top spot in the ECC standings, sharing the position with Loveland, each at 7-2. West Clermont at 6-3 and Kings at 5-4, both remain in contention. The schedule for ECC conference games this week includes: Wednesday-Milford at Kings, West Clermont at Anderson, Loveland at Walnut Hills and Withrow at Turpin; Thursday-Milford at Walnut Hills; Friday-Kings at Milford, Anderson at West Clermont, and Walnut Hills at Loveland; Saturday-Anderson at Turpin.

POLL WATCH: Milford sits in fifth place in the April 23 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Division I area coaches’ poll. Mason is the heavy favorite of the 20 voting coaches, earning all but one top vote. Lakota East is second, with Moeller, owner of the other first place vote and Elder ahead of the Eagles. The ECC is also represented by Loveland in 10^th, along with West Clermont, Kings and Anderson all receiving votes. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon 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.