Rob Hardin / Chief Photographer / rh124104@ohiou.edu

Ohio University freshman Zach Keen (center) celebrates with his teammates following his grand slam in the bottom of the eight inning of the Bobcats’ third game against Miami Saturday.  Keen’s grand slam tied the game at 5-5 and junior Marc Krauss hit a home run with a man on first to put the Bobcats on top 7-5.  The Bobcats swept all three games against Miami this weekend with scores of 6-5, 16-11 and 7-5.

On his team’s biggest day of the season, Ohio coach Joe Carbone reflected on a similar situation last season that ended very differently.

“I kept thinking, ‘How great would that be to say you won three games in one day?’” Carbone said, recalling Ohio’s tripleheader last season against Ball State. The Cardinals came from behind to win in the first game, spoiling Ohio’s chance for a sweep.

“It is a big deal to win three games in one day,” he said. “And it’s even sweeter when it’s against Miami.

“This might be the best day I’ve ever had here,” the 40-year veteran of the program added with a chuckle.

It’s entirely possible.

The Bobcats completed (24-27, 12-12 Mid-American Conference) a three-game sweep of their rival RedHawks (17-32, 7-16 MAC) in about seven and 1/2 hours Saturday afternoon. The original doubleheader had a little extra flavor after Friday night’s contest was suspended because of rain in the top of the eighth inning.

Ohio and Miami turned out three very different-looking games: the 6-5 pitcher’s duel (by comparison to games two and three) of game one, the 16-11 slugfest in the second game and the late-game heroics of game three’s 7-5 final. The Bobcats completed a sweep of a MAC opponent for the first time since late March, moved into third place in the MAC East and extended their winning streak to five games.

With all the superlatives, all Carbone could do was laugh.

“This was a great day,” he said with a grin. “Our guys stayed focused, and they were on the ball. It’s a credit to the players and the coaching staff. We get them ready, and they play.”

On such an unusual day, it’s not surprising that there were some unusual heroes, along with some of the more expected faces.

After the completely opposite games one and two, the Bobcats couldn’t keep up at the start of game three. They fell behind early and stayed behind, trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth — until freshman Zach Keen, who previously had just two home runs on the year, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.

“That was probably the best feeling I’ve had in my entire life,” Keen described seeing his fly ball go over the left field wall that tied the game, 5-5. “It was awesome.”

Outfielder Matt Stiffler agreed that the freshman had his brightest moment at the most crucial point.

“Zach’s grand slam just energized everybody,” he said. “And I was right behind him, got a good pitch to hit and got a good piece of it.”

Stiffler, who has already proved his power with eight home runs on the season, topped off Keen’s efforts with a two-run homer two batters later to put Ohio ahead 7-5. Kevin Mementowski finished off the RedHawks in the top of the ninth to secure the sweep.

Saturday’s other unlikely incident was an Ohio pitcher earning a win with a quality outing. Zach Elmer tossed eight innings to save a labored Ohio pitching staff, allowing five runs while striking out eight.Carbone said Elmer came up big because the bullpen was already exhausted, having already thrown five and 2/3 innings on the day.

“We had nowhere to go if Elmer was going to falter early,” he said.

The extremes were not all good for Ohio. Third baseman Brandon Besl was hit by a pitch in game two, resulting in lacerations to his face that required more than 20 stitches. Carbone said Besl was questionable for this weekend’s three-game conference series with Buffalo to end the season.