AKRON, Ohio (Interstat) — Tommy Harrison homered and drove in three runs, and No. 38 Miami (Ohio) used a five-run first inning to take control of a 15-8 victory over Akron on Saturday afternoon at InfoCision Stadium, completing a three-game Mid-American Conference sweep.

The Redhawks improved to 38-15 overall and remained atop the MAC standings, while the Zips fell to 20-34. Miami outhit Akron 18-13 in the high-scoring affair.

Miami struck quickly in the top of the first. Marcus Dierks led off with a double, and after Evan Appelwick singled him home, the Redhawks loaded the bases. Ryan Novak brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Diego Cruz added an RBI groundout. By the time the inning ended, Miami had taken a 5-0 lead, chasing Akron starter Carter Beck after just two-thirds of an inning.

The Zips got on the board in the bottom of the second when Prince DeBoskie scored on a single by Henry Hayman, trimming the deficit to 5-1. But Miami answered emphatically in the third. After Diego Cruz walked and Dominic Krupinski singled, Matt Buffington laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Cruz home. Later in the inning, with two outs and runners on second and third, Harrison crushed a three-run homer to right field, extending the lead to 8-1.

Miami added a run in the fourth on another RBI single from Cruz, making it 9-1. By the fifth, Redhawks starter Troy Benko had kept Akron off the board, though he labored through 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on no hits but walking three and striking out one. The line was deceptive because Akron did not record a hit off Benko until the sixth, but he issued free passes and gave up a couple of runs.

Akron attempted a comeback in the sixth. After Kyle McConachie singled, Kelton Phillips reached on a fielder’s choice, and Brody Chrisman followed with a two-run homer to right, cutting the deficit to 9-3. Later in the same inning, Easton Amundson belted a two-run home run off reliever Carson Byers, pulling the Zips within four at 9-5. But Miami answered again in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs. Krupinski’s sacrifice fly, Buffington’s two-run single and a throwing error fueled the rally, pushing the lead to 13-5.

Akron kept fighting in the bottom of the seventh. Hayman singled, and after a walk, McConachie singled to load the bases. Phillips drove in a run with a fielder’s choice, and Chrisman singled to make it 13-7. But the Zips could get no closer, as Byers struck out Blake Bowen to end the threat.

Miami tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. Ryan Novak singled, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on Cruz’s single. In the ninth, the Redhawks padded the lead when Buffington singled and later scored on an error.

Akron made one last push in the bottom of the ninth. McConachie singled, and after a groundout, Chrisman singled and stole second. Brady Bowen singled to score McConachie, making it 15-8. But Blake Bowen grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.

Harrison’s big day continued a torrid stretch. In the previous two games of the series, he had gone a combined 7-for-11 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. He finished Saturday 2-for-4 with a walk and a caught stealing.

Buffington drove in four runs for Miami, going 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly. Dierks collected three hits, scored three times and stole a base. Cruz also had three hits and three RBIs, while Krupinski added two hits and two RBIs.

Chrisman led Akron with three hits, a homer and three RBIs. Amundson homered and drove in two. Hayman had two hits for the Zips.

Nathan Currah pitched a scoreless ninth for Akron, allowing one hit.

Miami starter Troy Benko earned the win despite a rocky outing. Carson Byers finished with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four.

The game’s pivotal moment came in the third inning when Harrison’s three-run homer turned a 5-1 lead into an 8-1 advantage, effectively putting the game out of reach after Akron had shown signs of life.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Miami (Ohio) 8, Akron 4, and the Interstat ELO system gave the Redhawks a 76.00 percent probability of victory entering the contest.