NCAA, coaches should hold trouble-makers more accountable

http://www.independentcollegian.com/ncaa-head-coaches-should-hold-trouble-makers-more-accountable-1.2751168

College football has a major problem on its hands, and it’s no longer free tattoos or even the lack of a playoff system.

It’s the alarming rate at which football players have found themselves sporting handcuffs and lounging in the back of police cars these days.

Between DUI’s, assaults and other crimes ranging in severity, many players from programs all over country have spent more time filling up their rap sheet than their stat sheet.

It’s disturbing that so many student-athletes put themselves in positions to make mistakes. What’s even more disturbing is the severe lack of accountability on kids and their programs when they do.

New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had 31 arrests by 25 different players occur under his watch at Florida from 2005-10, 10 of which were felony, nine were eventually reduced to misdemeanors.

Unfortunately for him, his new players picked up right where his old ones left off.

Senior wide receiver Jake Stoneburner and junior offensive tackle Jack Mewhort were caught urinating on a building by police in June just outside of Muirfield Village Golf Course. The Memorial, a PGA Tour event, was being held in nearby Dublin.

The two starters ran and hid when they were spotted and were taken to jail.

They were suspended indefinitely and had their scholarships taken away for the summer. Meyer allowed them to return to practice Aug. 8 and will reinstate their full-rides in the fall, meaning the only thing they missed out on was a few team activities.

A month later, linebacker Storm Klein was arrested on charges of assault and domestic violence. Unlike the slap on the wrist Stoneburner and Mewhort received, Klein was dismissed from the team the next day.
The string of summer off-field incidents didn’t stop there.

Freshman running back and five-star recruit Bri’onte Dunn was cited for possessing a small amount of marijuana and a pipe during a routine traffic stop. Reports since the late-July incident suggest that no disciplinary action will be taken by the team.

The Buckeyes certainly weren’t the only ones who had a lot to deal with this summer.
Michigan had four players arrested and coach Brady Hoke, like Meyer, hasn’t exactly taken a “zero-tolerance approach” either.

Since April, defensive tackle William Campbell was arrested on a felony charge of malicious destruction of property, receiver Darryl Stonum picked up his second DUI — and was eventually dismissed — starting running back Fitzgerald Toussaint picked up his first and defensive end Frank Clark was charged with home invasion, a second-degree felony.

Police said Campbell was intoxicated when he decided to slide across the hood of a car, severely damaging it in the process. Clark is accused of breaking into a dorm room and stealing a MacBook.

No punishment was handed down to Campbell, while Hoke played the “suspended indefinitely” card with Clark and Toussaint July 23. The Wolverines, picked to win the Big Ten’s Legends Division, opened up fall practice Aug. 6 and the two players were not present.

However, both of them were allowed to practice with the team a week later, despite being suspended.
Hoke and his staff are preparing them to play the first game of the season, which just so happens to be against the defending National Champion and second-ranked Alabama at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Pardon me for asking, but isn’t spending time away from the team a requirement during a suspension? The only thing Toussaint and Clark missed was the first week of practice.

You know, that grueling first week of practice when players run around in t-shirts and shorts that nobody wants to attend anyway?

Hoke recently stated, “Believe me, they have paid a heavy price and will continue to pay a price for actions unbecoming of a Michigan football player.”

Missing the first week of fall camp is hardly “paying a heavy price.” Nobody has ever signed on with a program because of their storied and prestigious blocking-sled or pass skeleton history. The only appropriate price for them, or any other NCAA football player that gets arrested, is to miss games.

The National Football League hands out suspensions left and right for violations to its Personal Conduct Policy. Players who engage in “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL” are subject to punishment.

It’s time the NCAA adopts something similar. Coaches, as well as the NCAA, are sending the message that winning football games is more important than being a responsible and civilized member of society, which is wrong.

The NCAA seems more concerned about the number of text messages exchanged between a coach and a recruit than disciplining players who are already part of their association.

Dez Bryant got suspended for his entire senior season at Oklahoma State for jogging on a treadmill with Deion Sanders, yet players can drive drunk, smoke weed or commit a felony, maintain their eligibility and not face any sort of mandatory punishment. That’s a joke.

Ohio State and Michigan provide many examples, but they’re not the only ones with issues. Notre Dame, Clemson, South Carolina, Mississippi and Purdue had players make an appearance at the local jail this summer, and that’s not even half of them.

Since the beginning of the month, four more D-I schools have had an arrest.

In fact, during the time it took to write this column, a player from Tulane was arrested for armed robbery.
These stories are seen with far too much regularity. Until the NCAA and its head coaches decide to act, don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Jay Skebba is a senior majoring in Communication and has contributed to ESPNWisconsin.com

Toledo's Gaitan reflects on her Olympic experience

http://www.independentcollegian.com/toledo-s-gaitan-reflects-on-her-experience-at-olympics-1.2751171

UT women’s soccer standout Natalia Gaitan has garnered several accolades in her collegiate career, winning multiple Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships and being named an All-MAC first team selection.

At just 21 years old, she can now add “Summer Olympian” to her ever-improving resume.

“It was a lot of pride and a lot of emotions,” Gaitan said. “It’s unbelievable to represent your country, be a captain and play with a great team.”

The senior defender captained her native Colombia in the nation’s first trip to the Summer Games.

“You can tell how proud she was to be doing that,” said UT head coach Brad Evans, who accompanied her to the United Kingdom. “You could tell in her preparation last spring before she left and certainly when we caught up with her at the different venues, she was taking the role seriously. She was proud.”

 Colombia, whose roster featured eight other college players, was grouped with North Korea, France and the eventual champion United States. They entered the games ranked 28th in the world.
Gaitan started each game on defense and was never afraid to put her body on the line, one of many things teammates and fans have come to admire her for.

The team’s first match in pool play provided one of the most notorious and bizarre events of the Olympics when the North Korean team left the field, creating an hour-long delay. During pregame introductions, the South Korean flag was inadvertently shown on the scoreboard next to the names and pictures of the North Korean players.

“At first, we didn’t know what was going on,” Evans said. “We knew the game had been delayed and then we saw the North Koreans clearing their bench. UT photographer Dan Miller actually caught a shot of one
of their officials angrily pointing at the scoreboard and we quickly figured out what had happened.”

Tension has existed between the two nations for decades and the Korean War began in 1950.

A parade of apologies began the next day, including one from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

“There was a lot of impatience going on,” Gaitan said. “We didn’t know in the beginning. It was kind of like, ‘let’s get this started, we want to play now.’”

The unfortunate incident quickly overshadowed the match, which North Korea won 2-0.

Next up for Gaitan and Colombia in Glasgow, Scotland was a game with the high-powered Americans. The U.S. went on to shutout Colombia 3-0, but Gaitan said the game was much more competitive than the score indicated.

"We played them last year, it was a tough game, as it was this year,” Gaitan said. “I think we played better, we could find good moments for our team to get some chances in goal. But they’re a good team.”

All four countries in the group stayed in the same hotel in Glasgow, where a strong security presence was on display.

No cars were allowed to drive up to the property, which felt more like an airport than a hotel.

“Empty your pockets, metal scanners, pat-down, and that was just to get into the hotel,” Evans said.
He also said games involving the United States called for armed security both inside the stadium, above the stadium and on the rooftops of the buildings surrounding it.

Colombia’s final contest of the 2012 Olympics resulted in a 1-0 defeat to France in Newcastle, England. Despite coming up short in each of their three matches, Gaitan and her teammates left many people impressed.

“She left it all on the field, that’s for sure,” Evans said. “She was impressive to watch. The way she represented herself, her family, and ultimately her country and to a degree our program, I think she did it wonderfully well.”

Colombia’s first visit to the Olympics didn’t produce as much success as they would have liked, but there were still several positives that Gaitan and her teammates took away from the United Kingdom.

“Not all athletes can get to the Olympics,” Gaitan said.”We’re fortunate, we’re blessed to say that we went and we represented our country. We did our best and hopefully we get to go again in four years in Rio”.
Gaitan is no stranger to the big stage. She was co-captain for last year’s National Team that competed in the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Not many NCAA athletes can bring the wealth of knowledge and experiences to their team that Gaitan is able to.

“First and foremost, it brings perspective,” Evans said. “She’s got a view on pressure situations and the talent on the opposition that we’re just not going to encounter at this level. She’s far more even-keel because of these experiences.

“She’s very level-headed, unflappable, and I think that plays out certainly as an advantage for our team.”

Gaitan hopes that her country’s first Olympic appearance will help to boost support for the soccer program. As is the case with many international sports, the best countries are the ones with the most funding.
The financial backing from the country is slowly improving, but they’re not yet at a level that’s comparable to the world’s best soccer nations.

“It has been increasing over the past couple years, but we’re far away from where we want to be,” Gaitan said. “We need more support from the federation, from the sponsors. It’s getting better, but we need to be even better.”

Campbell and staff find success on recruiting trail

http://www.independentcollegian.com/campbell-and-staff-find-success-on-the-football-recruiting-trail-1.2749834#.UCxWDT2PUSw

Character, passion and commitment – those are the three qualities that head coach Matt Campbell stresses to recruits when he sits down in living rooms across the country.

We’ve reached the halfway point in the race for the best high school players the 2013 class has to offer and Campbell likes where he stands.

“I’m really proud of how this staff has recruited,” Campbell said. “I think we’ve done a great job and I think we’ve worked really hard to find young people that fit into the core values of our program.”

The Rockets have received verbal commitments from 11 high school seniors-to-be. There’s a long way to go until National Signing Day in February, but Rivals currently ranks UT’s 2013 class as the best in the Mid-American Conference.

Toledo’s 2012 class was also considered to be number one in the league.

“I think our program’s in a situation right now where we have to bring in people that represent what the kids we have in our program right now represent, and that’s great character young men,” Campbell said. “Division I football is really hard, it’s a 365-day-a-year commitment to being the best you can be and I think that’s really important when you evaluate a young man.”

Campbell, about to begin his first full season at the helm, knows the importance of landing players inside “Rocket Nation,” a term his predecessor Tim Beckman coined as anywhere within a four-hour radius from Toledo.

Of the 11 commits in the class of 2013, eight of them are within that range.

One of the headliners of the 2013 group is Nate Jeppesen, a three-star offensive lineman from Portage, Mich.

The 6-4, 270-pounder gave Toledo his oral commitment June 26th. Jeppesen can play either side of the ball, but likely projects as an offensive guard with excellent run-blocking skills. He can also move well for a player his size.

Another key player in this class from Rocket Nation that should have a big role down the road with the Rockets is Lake Catholic (Mentor, OH) defensive end John Stepec.

Stepec recorded 80 tackles as a junior in 2011, 21 of them for a loss, and 12 sacks.

Weighing-in at 245 pounds, he’ll have some bulking-up to do, but shouldn’t have any problem filling out his 6-3 frame.

The Rockets beat out several BCS schools for Stepec’s services, including Minnesota, Syracuse and Boston College.

“I’m a northeast Ohio guy, my dad was a head high school football coach, so I know the pride and tradition not only in this state, but in the four-hour radius around this state,” Campbell said.

UT has also had success finding and utilizing local products from the northwest Ohio area.

Perrysburg’s T.J. Fatinikun is easily one of the most talented defensive assets on the squad. The senior was leading the team in tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (2.5) before an injury Oct 8 caused him to miss the rest of the 2011 season.

Holland’s Eric Page was an All-American for Toledo in 2010 and caught 306 passes during his three-year career. Had he stayed for his senior season, he would have needed just 43 catches to become the all-time NCAA leader.

“Not only does it say there’s great talent here, but it also says a lot about the high school coaches,” Campbell said. “One of the great things that maybe people sometimes don’t realize is you look around the city and you see some of the best high school coaches in the state of Ohio.”

The 32-year-old Campbell and his staff will look to area products Marquise Moore and Austin Niswander to continue to ride the wave of success with local talent.

Moore, a three-star defensive tackle from Whitmer High School, also gave UT a commitment this summer. He stands 6-1, 297 pounds and anchors a defensive line that made the state final four last year.

Niswander has played just about every position for Findlay High School, but will likely translate to safety or outside linebacker at the next level.

The three-star athlete recorded 64 tackles and a forced fumble on defense in 2011.

“(Area coaches) are committed to building programs, they’ve been there, they’ve built great programs,” Campbell said. “When we have an opportunity to recruit a young man from one of those high schools, we know we’re going to get a first-class person.”

There’s still six months until any of these kids can officially sign on the dotted line, a reality that makes any mid-major program uneasy.

Many players commit to a program like Toledo early in the process and use that as a safety net in case bigger programs don’t offer during their senior seasons.

Three highly-touted recruits have decommitted from UT this summer after bigger programs in BCS conferences offered a scholarship.

“Sometimes you win that battle, sometimes you don’t, that’s recruiting” Campbell said. “One of the things I’ve always said is we’re going to recruit the best of the best throughout the country and I’m not afraid to do that. Our staff’s not afraid to do that and we’re not afraid to go toe-to-toe with those people.”

Women's soccer coach to be a Rocket through 2016

http://www.independentcollegian.com/evans-to-be-a-rocket-through-2016-1.2749295#.UCKUIU2PXTA

Women’s soccer coach Brad Evans agreed to a contract extension Tuesday that will keep him in Toledo through the 2016 season, Athletic Director Mike O’Brien announced.

Evans, about to begin his 12th season at the helm, has led the Rockets to 118-82-24 overall record.

“Brad has rebuilt a national-caliber program while being the head coach at the University of Toledo,” O’Brien said. “We’re pleased about this commitment to Brad and look forward to him being with us for many years to come.”

Evans has brought home three Mid-American Conference championships (2008, ’10, ’11) and a league record four conference tournament titles (2006, ‘06, ‘08, ’11).  He was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2011 for the second straight season.

 “My wife [Kristen] and I would like to thank Mike and Dr. Jacobs for this contract extension and for their truly remarkable support of the Toledo Women’s Soccer program,” Evans said. “I’m grateful for the tremendous faith they have shown in me over the years and I’m thrilled with what we have accomplished in developing a first-class soccer program both on and off the field.”

Evans led Toledo to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, also a conference record last season. He coached three MAC Players of the Year and 14 All-Conference selections.

His 41-10-4 MAC record over the last five years is the best mark in the league.

“This type of long-term success does not happen without great support,” Evans said. “For over a decade, my family has been enthusiastic and proud residents of the Toledo area, and we will be for years to come.”

Evans and his players have also seen great success off the field and in the classroom. Their 3.61 GPA for the 2010-11 school year was fifth best in the country.

Toledo had a top-10 team GPA in each of the last six years.

Rockets tabbed to win West - News and notes from MAC Media Day

http://www.independentcollegian.com/sports/rockets-tabbed-to-win-mac-west-at-media-day-1.2748435#.UA87RbR8DEi

DETROIT, Mich. -- With college football Media Day kicking off in many conferences, one thing is certain -- football season is right around the corner.

The Rockets are eager to return to the field for what looks to be another promising year for Toledo football.

For the second consecutive season, the media has picked UT to win the Mid-American Conference West. The polls were released before today’s events at Ford Field.

 “It makes me feel good about the direction of our football program,” said UT head coach Matt Campbell. “I think we’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in position to be at the top of our conference. In November, we want to be back here at Ford Field with an opportunity to achieve a goal for our football team.”

Toledo came close to reaching that goal last year, going 7-1 in MAC play with their only loss coming in a 63-60 shootout at home to eventual champion Northern Illinois.

There appears to be a developing rivalry between these two in the West. Their annual meeting carried significant weight in recent years.

“I think it’s more than a little rivalry for us,” said NIU head coach Dave Doeren with a grin on his face. “We look forward to playing them.”

The tough loss eventually sent NIU to the MAC title game instead of UT by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Avenging last year’s loss to the Huskies would go a long way toward earning a trip to Detroit in 2012.

Much of the talk surrounding Toledo at Media Day was unsurprisingly about the two-quarterback system that has become a staple of the offense for the last few years. Senior Austin Dantin admitted it was tough at first, but now it is just part of the offense.

“It’s become so routine we do it every single day in practice and we’re used to it and we’ve grown accustomed to it,”Dantin said. “I think because of that, we’ve learned to just accept it and we know it’s best for our team. Our team’swinning, so we’re not going to have any issues with it.”

Dantin started the first 10 games in 2011, while junior Terrance Owens got the nod for their final three contests, including the Military Bowl.

Dantin completed 122-of-188 passes for 1,404 yards and 15 touchdowns. Owens threw for 2,022 yards on 166-of-230 passing. His 72.2 completion percentage was a MAC record.

“These guys are in a position now where they are great leaders in our football program,” Campbell said. “They’ve led our program to where it is right now from a leadership standpoint, to an unselfish standpoint and from a competitive standpoint. We’ve got two great players at quarterback and we are fortunate to have that.

 “It just so happens that we have two guys that we feel are very talented, that have proven themselves, have won hugefootball games in our program and they deserve the right to play. It’s unheard of today to have two guys at one position, especially a marquee position like quarterback, where those two have an opportunity to share the spotlight.”

Campbell is also in that spotlight.

At just 32 years of age, he’s the youngest head coach in D-I football. Serving as the offensive coordinator last year, he was promoted to head coach after Tim Beckman departed to take the same position at Illinois prior to the bowl game.

The experience from coaching that one game along with all of spring ball will hopefully pay dividends as he transitions into his first full season as head coach.

“I think you’re always learning, you’re always growing,” Campbell said. “But to have that under my belt, I think it helps me prepare for what it’s going to be like through a 12-game season. That’s been worth its weight in gold because I think it’s so important to learn what your players can do, what motivates our players to be successful and how we can continue their success.”

The Rockets begin fall practice Friday, Aug. 3 and begin the regular season at Arizona Saturday, Sept. 1.

Axford can't save the Brewers

(Originally published July 17, 2012)

http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=7801

In a season full of excruciatingly painful losses, the Brewers’ debacle Monday night might have been the most gut-wrenching.


John Axford blew his sixth save of the season, coughing up a two-run lead in the ninth as St. Louis took a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game series at Miller Park.


Axford (2-6), walked two batters and loaded the bases before surrendering back-to-back hits to Matt Holliday and Alan Craig.


“It’s what I’ve been saying a lot with (Axford) this year, it’s his command,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “He’s not able to throw his fastball where he wants to. When he throws his breaking ball, it’s not a strike. And then he’s got to come back with fastballs, which aren’t located real well.”


Axford, who converted on all but two save opportunities in 2011, saw his ERA soar to 5.35 and left the mound to a chorus of boos as Kameron Loe entered to retire the side.


“All together, that’s the most frustrating outing I’ve had all year,” Axford said. “I’ve had a few blown saves this year, but that’s definitely the most frustrating one. Today, I just felt awful.”


Axford’s latest meltdown overshadowed another tremendous outing from Mike Fiers.


The rookie starter tossed a gem Monday night, something that Brewer fans have come to expect from the 26-year-old righty.


Fiers (3-3) scattered four hits over seven shutout innings, fanning four and walking four, doing more than enough to give the Brewers a chance to win.


“He was great again,” Roenicke said. “He’s got deception, he’s got speed changes that messes up the hitters and he throws up in the zone real well. He’s doing an unbelievablejob for us.”


Fiers lowered his ERA to 2.01 in eight starts since joining Milwaukee’s rotation as a replacement for injured Marco Estrada. He made his season debut May 29 in Los Angeles, where he surrendered just one run in seven innings.


Fiers has been a pleasant surprise during a season of much disappointment and frustration.


“I’ve had stretches in my baseball career where I’ve thrown multiple scoreless innings, but I’m just enjoying it right now,” Fiers said. “I’m just trying to put up zeroes and give our team a chance to win. That’s my whole philosophy here.”


Hot-hitting Corey Hart ended the scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh with a solo blast to straightaway center off Lance Lynn that hit the bottom of the scoreboard. It was the 17th homer for Hart, who is batting .341 for the month after posting a .247 mark in June.


Milwaukee padded Axford’s cushion in the eighth. Norichika Aoki drew a one-out walk off of Cardinals reliever Barret Browning. Two batters later, Ryan Braun delivered a double, allowing Aoki score from first and giving Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.


Axford, who has been plagued by control issues all year, encountered more of the same when took the mound in the ninth.


He walked Matt Carpenter to start the inning, but seemed to have recovered when he recorded two fly ball outs. Axford got St. Louis down to their last strike when Rafeal Furcal hit a hard chopper to third that was too hot for Aramis Ramirez to handle. Ramirez jumped back and tried to backhand the ball. Furcal was awarded a base hit.


“I don’t think (Aramis) is going to get (Furcal) even if he catches it,” Roenicke said. “Once you back off like that to try and get a good hop, I don’t think he’s going to get Furcal.”


Axford then walked Skip Schumaker to load the bases after getting St. Louis down to their last strike for a second time.


Matt Holliday, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games, came to the plate with runners at second and third and two out. He grounded a 3-2 pitch right between Hart and Rickie Weeks to plate a pair and tie the game.


Allen Craig then blooped one over the head of Cody Ransom at short to score Schumaker and give the Cardinals the lead. Axford left the game to a chorus of boos and Roenicke didn’t exactly give him a vote of confidence after the game.


“We talk about it all the time,” Roenicke responded when asked if there could be a change at closer. “We talked about it just now and we’ll talk again tomorrow. I think (Axford) has a lot going on upstairs. I don’t know what all the issues are.”


Axford downplayed the possibility of anything on the mental side hampering his play. The Brewers closer had St. Louis down to their last strike three times, but failed to deliver on each occasion.


“I know how important these games are, so that’s why this one is even more frustrating,” Axford said.

Ransom plays the role of unlikely hero for Brewers

(Originally published July 14, 2012)

http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=7701

I guess it’s only fitting that Friday the 13th provided us with one of the most wild andunpredictable games of the Brewers season.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, Cody Ransom drove a 2-2 pitch from Tony Watson well over the wall in left center for a go-ahead grand slam that gave Milwaukee a 10-6 lead.

John Axford surrendered a solo homer to Andrew McCutchen in the ninth, but held on to give the Brewers a huge 10-7 victory against the first place Pirates.

“It’s nice to start off this way,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “Good offense and we had some good bullpen today.”

Two of the National League’s best pitchers were on the mound in Zach Greinke and James McDonald, but you wouldn’t have known it from their performances Friday night.

Greinke was pinch-hit for after five and McDonald was pulled after just 4.2 innings clinging to a 6-4 lead. McDonald, who entered the game with a tidy 2.37 ERA, allowed four earned on eight hits and walked five.

Greinke surrendered five earned runs on seven hits during his third consecutive start for Milwaukee, including two long home runs. Red Faber was the last pitcher to take the hill in three straight games back in 1917 as a member of the White Sox.

“I didn’t pitch perfect by any means,” Greinke said. “They capitalized on all their opportunities. I wish the three games would have went better than they did on my part, but we won two out of three, so I guess you can’t be too upset over that.”

Despite all of the trade rumors that have surrounded the former Cy Young winner, he insisted it hasn’t bothered him on the rubber.

Something that wasn’t out of the ordinary was Ryan Braun putting on yet another show. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player hit the first of his two homers on the night in the bottom of the first, a solo shot to right center to put the Crew in front, 1-0.

Braun was 4-4 with two home runs, three RBI, one walk, one steal and three runs scored. His 26 long-balls lead the NL and he’s just one RBI shy of the league lead with 64.

“I feel good, I’m seeing the ball well,” Braun said. “I feel like my swing is in a good place.”

Three batters later, Rickie Weeks ripped a sharp liner down the left field line to scoreAramis Ramirez from second. Pittsburgh left fielder Drew Sutton bobbled the ball twice trying to scoop it up after it caromed off the side wall just past the tarp, allowing Corey Hart to score from first to put Milwaukee in front 3-0.

After allowing an unearned run in the third, Greinke ran into huge problems in the fourth.

Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes each had broken-bat, bloop singles over the head of a Brewers infielder. Sutton followed with yet another flair, this time over the head of Ramirez at third to bring in a run.

Neil Walker then extended his hitting streak to 13 games when he clobbered a hanging curveball from Greinke and sent it over the wall in center, giving Pittsburgh a 5-3 lead.

“It’s not like (Pittsburgh) got two good base hits and then they hit a home run,” Roenicke said. “(Greinke) shouldn’t have even been facing Walker if everything was right. Those guys should have been out, and that changes things.”

Milwaukee looked for their best player to respond and he didn’t disappoint.

In the bottom of the fourth, Braun stepped in with two outs and runners at the corners. He promptly lined one right back up the middle that brought Maldonado home to inch his team closer.

Trailing 6-5 in the sixth, Braun once again came through in a big way. The red-hot left fielder went yard for the second time, his fourth multi-homer game of the season and 16th of his career to tie it up at six. Both of his bombs Friday night were to the opposite field.

“I think when I’m going my best, I’m hitting the ball the other way,” Braun said. “More than anything, I try to hit it where it’s pitched. If it’s inside, try to pull it, if it’s outside, try to hit it that way.”

The game remained tied in the eighth when Braun and Ramirez came through with base hits off Watson. Corey Hart struck out, but the runners advanced to second and third on a double steal.

The Pirates elected to intentionally walk Weeks, despite his .200 batting average, to load the bases for unlikely hero Cody Ransom’s mammoth grand slam over the Brewers bullpen in left center.

“(I was looking for) just something to drive,” Ransom said. “We just needed a single there to get a run, so I was just looking for a pitch to hit.”

Maldonado also had four hits, going 4 for 5 with a run scored. Hart went 3 for 5 with three singles.

Francisco Rodriguez picked up the win and improved to 2-4 on the year.

The Brewers got a much needed victory to start their most important stretch of the year to this point. After these three games with first place Pittsburgh, Milwaukee will take on St. Louis and Cincinnati, all teams who are in front of them in the Central. Milwaukee currently sits seven games back in the division.

“We recognize the importance and significance of these games,” Braun said. “There’s no reason to pretend like they’re less important than they are. We understand that these next nine games will dictate which way the rest of our season goes.