A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: A capsule look at the 2019 team:
- 2019 Record: 15-9, 9-5 ECC
- Head Coach: Tom Kilgore (21st year at Milford)
- Top Hitter: Senior Calvin Hunter (.393 BA/8 2B/2 3B/25 RBI/3 SB)
- Top Pitcher: Senior Jake Becker (5-1/1.32 ERA/37.0 IP/30 SO)
THE UPCOMING DOCKET: A look at Milford’s schedule for the upcoming week:
- Monday, May 13 at Ross, 5:00 p.m. (completion of suspended game from May 4; game is tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning)
- Tuesday, May 14 vs. Withrow, 5:00 p.m. (OHSAA Tournament)
- 2019 Record: 2-19, 0-14 ECC
- Top Hitter: Sophomore Kejuan Watts-McDaniel (.300/1 XBH/10 RBI/8 SB)
- Top Pitcher: Junior Winston Combs (2-5 record/6.65 ERA/20.0 IP/35 SO)
- Last Meeting: 2019; Milford 22, Withrow 0 & Milford 15, Withrow 0
TOURNEY TALK: The Eagles have earned the No. 10 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 14, hosting No. 32 Withrow. Click here for the sectional brackets.
The schedule for ECC teams in the tournament includes: No. 5 Kings vs. winner of No. 10 Milford-No. 32 Withrow (May 16, 5:00 p.m. at Kings), No. 7 Anderson vs. winner of No. 13 Colerain-No. 16 West Clermont (May 16, 5:00 p.m. at Anderson), No. 9 Turpin vs. No. 15 Walnut Hills (May 14, 5:00 p.m. at Turpin), No. 10 Milford vs. No. 32 Withrow (May 14, 5:00 p.m. at Milford), No. 16 West Clermont vs. No. 13 Colerain (May 14, 5:00 p.m. at Colerain) and No. 20 Loveland vs. No. 18 Hamilton (May 14, 5:00 p.m. at Hamilton).
A LOOK BACK: May 6 at Milford: Milford 1, Turpin 0
GAME REWIND
Zach Byron spun another gem on the mound, tossing a seven-hit shutout as the Eagles topped Turpin by a 1-0 score. For the third straight outing, Byron surpassed double-digit strikeouts, fanning 13 Spartans to give him 50 K’s over his last 18 innings.
At the plate, Milford was limited to only three hits, but Max Ward’s second inning RBI double was all the run support Byron would need.
RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS
Milford: 13-7, 7-5 ECC; Turpin: 12-8, 8-5 ECC
WP: Zach Byron; LP: William Henkel; Save: None
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Zach Byron 7 IP, 0 R, 7 H, 2 BB, 13 SO
Max Ward 2B
Turpin
Justin Silverstein 3-3, 2B
William Henkel 6 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
May 7 at Walnut Hills: Milford 16, Walnut Hills 6
GAME REWIND
Milford scored in every inning as they raced past Walnut Hills by a 16-6 final score. The game began on May 1 and was suspended in the top of the fifth inning with Milford leading 7-4.
MHS got three hits each from Calvin Hunter and Brady Sluder, while Grant Whitaker drew four walks. Hunter Frank drove in three runs and the top-three in the batting order Anthony Bassano (3), Sam Greenwell (4) and Hunter (3) combined to score 10 of the 16 runs. Hunter also earned the victory with three solid innings of pitching.
RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS
Milford: 14-7, 8-5 ECC; Walnut Hills: 15-9, 6-7 ECC
WP: Calvin Hunter; LP: Justin Boggs; Save: None
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Anthony Bassano 2B, 3 R
Sam Greenwell 4 R
Calvin Hunter 3-4, 3B, 3 R, 2 RBI
Hunter Frank 3 RBI
Brady Sluder 3-6, 2 RBI
Grant Whitaker 2 RBI, 4 BB
Braden Pickett 2B
Walnut Hills
Max Davenport 2-4, 2B, 2 R
Tyler Heinecke 2-4
Garrett Longeway 2B, 3 RBI
Cole Francis 2B
Nick Presley 2B
May 8 at Turpin: Milford 15, Turpin 6
GAME REWIND
A close game turned into a wild one in the final inning as Milford earned a 15-6 victory over Turpin. The Eagles scored first with a single run in the third and created breathing room with three runs each in the fourth and sixth innings. Things got crazy in the seventh as Milford scored eight times and the Spartans answered with six in their half of the frame.
The victory clinched a second place finish in the ECC for the Eagles.
Jake Becker continued his outstanding senior season on the hill, tossing six shutout innings and allowing just five hits. Anthony Bassano had a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Calvin Hunter also had three hits and drove in four on the day. Brady Sluder knocked in three for the game as well.
RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS
Milford: 15-7, 9-5 ECC; Turpin: 12-9, 8-6 ECC
WP: Calvin Hunter; LP: Justin Boggs; Save: None
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Jake Becker 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 SO
Anthony Bassano 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI
Max Ward 3-4
Calvin Hunter 3-4, 4 RBI
Grant Whitaker 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Brady Sluder 3 RBI
Cameron Hemmert 3-5, 3 R
Turpin
Nick McLaughlin 2-4, 2B
Justin Silverstein 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Connor Stout 2B
Garrett Manaster 2-2
May 10 at Springboro: Springboro 5, Milford 0
GAME REWIND
Springboro pitcher Tyler Kean, committed to Ohio State for next season, held Milford to just four hits over five shutout innings as the Eagles fell to the Panthers by a 5-0 score. Springboro struck early against Calvin Hunter for all the runs it would need with three in the first and two more in the third. The big hit of the game came in the first on Logan Zier’s two-run home run.
Milford had chances against Kean, who also walked five, ultimately leaving seven on base for the game. The Eagles had their best scoring chance in the third when Braden Pickett singled with two men on. But Adam Yoh was gunned down at the plate trying to score from second. The Eagles also had a golden chance in the fifth with two runners on and just one out. Kean, though struck out Jonathan Baker and Hunter back-to-back to kill the rally.
RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS
Milford: 15-8; Springboro: 19-6
WP: Tyler Kean; LP: Calvin Hunter; Save: None
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Anthony Bassano 2-4
Hunter Frank 2B
Springboro
Tyler Kean 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 SO
Logan Zier HR, 2 RBI
May 11 at Milford: Elder 10, Milford 2
GAME REWIND
Elder parlayed an eight-run first inning into a victory, streaking past Milford by a 10-2 score. Zach Byron, so strong over his last three starts, was charged with seven of the eight first inning runs, in his shortest outing of the season.
Brady Sluder provided the offense for the Eagles with a two-run single in the third inning. But the Eagles, who had just three total hits, were held to just one base runner for the rest of the afternoon.
RECORDS & PITCHING DECISIONS
Milford: 15-9; Elder: 16-7
WP: Luke Masminster; LP: Zach Byron; Save: None
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Brady Sluder 2 RBI
Elder
Kory Kligenbeck 2B
Sean O’Conner 2-4
Mike Bush 2B, 2 R
Tommy Thamann 2B
Ryan Marr 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Zack Williams 2 RBI
Ben Burke 2B, 3 RBI
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:
Batting Average: Calvin Hunter (.393), Anthony Bassano (.375), Max Ward (.368)
Slugging Percentage: Calvin Hunter (.560), Anthony Bassano (.538), Braden Pickett (.474)
On Base Percentage: Max Ward (.528), Calvin Hunter (.463), Anthony Bassano (.457)
Runs Scored: Anthony Bassano (25), Calvin Hunter (20), Sam Greenwell/Grant Whitaker (19)
Hits: Calvin Hunter (33), Anthony Bassano (30), Brady Sluder (20)
RBI: Calvin Hunter (25), Brady Sluder (23), Grant Whitaker (16)
Doubles: Anthony/Bassano/Calvin Hunter/Braden Pickett (8)
Triples: Calvin Hunter (3), Anthony Bassano/Cameron Hemmert/Tyler Rawlins (1)
Home Runs: Anthony Bassano (1)
Walks: Grant Whitaker (13), Four tied (10)
Stolen Bases: Cameron Hemmert (6), Grant Whitaker (5), Anthony Bassano/Calvin Hunter (3)
Wins: Jake Becker (5), Zach Byron/Calvin Hunter (3)
Saves: Sam Roth (3), Anthony Bassano (2)
ERA: Jake Becker (1.32), Sam Roth (2.85), Calvin Hunter (3.65)
Innings: Jake Becker (37.0), Zach Byron (33.2), Sam Roth (27.0)
Opponents Batting Average: Jake Becker (.184), Braden Pickett (.191), Anthony Bassano (.208)
Strikeouts: Zach Byron (59), Sam Roth (33), Jake Becker (30)
COLLEGE BOUND EAGLES: Calvin Hunter was the first member of the 2019 Milford Baseball senior class to announce his plans for next season. Hunter has signed a national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Marshall University beginning in the fall.