Toledo vs. Pittsburgh (in progress)
PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Miami baseball team earned a season-opening win for the first time since 2007 on Saturday when it defeated Arizona State, 4-2, in game one of a doubleheader before falling in the night cap, 7-3.
Game 1 Recap | Miami 4, Arizona State 2
The Red & White opened the day with a 4-2 win over the Sun Devils behind a strong defensive and pitching effort. Starting hurler Nick Ernst (W, 1-0) was stellar in his 2018 debut, going six innings strong and allowing just one run on four hits while striking out six.
Miami got its first run of the year early when a Hayden Senger one-out double in the top of the second drove in Cal Elvers from second.
The `Hawks widened their advantage in the away half of the fifth on a Grant Hartwig two-out, two-RBI single through the left side. Ross Haffey and Landon Stephens scored on the play after reaching on an error and a walk, respectively.
The Sun Devils got on the board in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a MU throwing error. The Red & White had a 3-1 margin through five frames.
Arizona State inched closer with a sac fly in the seventh but a Dallas Hall RBI double in the top of the eighth gave Miami some insurance and enough to collect the two-run victory.
Junior Jack Corbell, making his first appearance as a RedHawk, picked up the save by tossing a scoreless final 1.1 innings.
Game 2 Recap | Miami 3, Arizona State 7
The Sun Devils grabbed a brief lead with a solo shot in the bottom of the second. Miami answered right back in the next half inning on a Hall RBI single and a two-run Haffey homer, his first of the year.
However, the RedHawk offense would go mostly quiet the rest of the way, getting runners on but unable to get the timely hit. MU starter Zach Spears (L, 0-1) took the defeat after allowing four runs on eight hits in five innings of work.
The same two teams are right back at it Sunday at Noon ET for another doubleheader with the series up for grabs.
Ohio 10, Rider 2 -- Boxscore
Ohio 6, Rider 5 – Boxscore
Story coming soon..
Toledo 4, Saint Louis 1 – Boxscore
Pittsburgh 17, Toledo 3 -- Boxscore
Story coming soon…
Northern Illinois 6, Central Arkansas 3
Boxscore
CONWAY, Ark. – Led by a pair of RBI from both Ty Jandrowski (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) and Hunter Bross (Scottsdale, Ariz./Mesa Community College), the Northern Illinois University baseball team earned a 6-3 win over Central Arkansas in the second game of a three-game weekend series Saturday.
The Huskies tallied a pair of runs in the second inning, single tallies in both the fifth and seventh, and two more in the ninth to nail down its first win of the season. Senior Donovin Sims (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) earned the win in relief as he tossed five solid innings. He fanned three batters and didn't give up an extra base hit.
"Great team win," Huskies' head coach Mike Kunigonis said. "It's always nice to get the first one of the year under your belt. Our bullpen was locked down. Sims gave us five great innings and settled us down."
After Central Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Huskies' starter Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./ Mishawaka Marian), NIU countered in the second when Jandrowski roped a two-run single to center field, allowing both Scooter Bynum (Fairbanks, Alaska/Arizona Western) and Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) to score. Central Arkansas responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame, but NIU padded its lead in the fifth when Samuel Vega (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Southwestern Junior College) singled up the middle, advanced to third on a single from Dunham and scored on Bynum's RBI groundout.The Bears tied the game, however, at 3-3 in the seventh when a Huskie miscue allowed a run to cross the plate, but the visitors shook off the blunder in the eighth when Jandrowski walked, advanced to second on a Bross sacrifice bunt and scored on Szczasny's single up the middle. NIU then polished off the victory in the ninth when Bross connected for the biggest hit of the game – a two-run double to right-center field, which allowed both Joe Jumonville (Munster, Ind./Munster) and Bynum to score.
"Our offense grinded like it always does and kept battling all night," Kunigonis said. "It was great to see Hunter have two knocks and a huge double to give us some breathing room going into the ninth."
Defensively, the Huskies turned three double plays while Andrew Frankenreider (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) came on in relief in the eighth inning and retired all five batters he faced.
"Frank was vintage Frank. He's been working extremely hard to get back where he was [before he was injured]," Kunigonis said. "Today he was better than ever."
Vega, Dunham, and Bross each connected for a pair of hits while Szczasny, Wood and Jandrowski each had one of NIU's nine hits."We'll enjoy the first one for a more hours then get locked in on tomorrow to focus on winning the series."
NIU (1-1) looks for the series win tomorrow afternoon when freshman right-handed pitcher Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) makes his collegiate debut at 1 p.m.
Sam Houston State 5, Kent State 1
Boxscore
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Not quite 24 hours after their most dramatic opening night win in recent memory, the Kent State Golden Flashes were shut down by 2017 Southland Conference Rookie of the Year Hayden Wesneski in a 5-1 defeat.
Up until the ninth inning, the right-hander allowed only one KSU runner to reach second base and no one beyond that. He had two separate streaks of retired hitters totaling 11 and 10. He induced Flashes' hitters to roll into 15 ground ball outs and finished with 8 strikeouts. He made 97 pitches in the complete game a day after the Sam Houston State bullpen had a rough outing.
"Sometimes you just have to tip your cap," head coach Jeff Duncan said. "I thought we had some decent at-bats, but when a guy with that kind of talent can throw multiple pitches for strikes, it is very tough."
Scoreless into the fourth, the Bearkats (1-1) broke through with a triple from Andrew Fregia and sac fly from Hunter Hearn to take a 1-0 lead. They added on in the sixth when a perfectly executed double steal set the stage for a RBI ground out from Fregia, chasing KSU starter Joey Murray. Leading 2-0 in the eighth, Sam Houston put the game away with three more runs against the Flashes' bullpen.
Kent State (1-1), which scored five ninth-inning runs Friday night, finally dented the plate in the ninth when Reilly Hawkins beat out a potential double play with the bases loaded, allowing Greg Lewandoski to score.
UT Rio Grande Valley 6, Central Michigan 3
Boxscore
EDINBURG, Texas – The big inning proved to be Central Michigan’s undoing on Saturday as the Chippewa baseball team fell, 6-3, to host Texas-Rio Grande Valley at the Vaqueros’ Al Ogletree Classic at Edinburg Stadium. CMU (1-2), which split its two games on Friday to open the classic, is scheduled to play Stephen F. Austin on Sunday (noon) in its final game of its season-opening weekend.
Morehead State 3, Ball State 0 -- Boxscore
Ball State 4, UMass Lowell 3 -- Boxscore
Story coming soon…
Purdue 5, Western Michigan 1 -- Boxscore
Purdue 5, Western Michigan 1 – Boxscore
EMERSON, Ga. – In a doubleheader against Big Ten powerhouse Purdue on Saturday afternoon, Western Michigan baseball dropped a pair of games, 5-1 at the Perfect Game Complex at LakePoint.
The Broncos collected 15 hits and two doubles while not committing an error against the Boilermakers on Saturday. Junior Nate Grys had a stellar day at the plate going 3-of-7 with one RBI while fellow junior Jimmy Roche also produced at the plate hitting .375 (3-for-8).
Junior RHP Nic Laio was electric in his first collegiate start in game two against the Boilermakers. Laio went five strong innings, giving up just one run on four hits while striking out three. The junior from Downers Grove, Ill., was pulled after the fifth due to Opening Day pitch count.
In game one of the doubleheader, redshirt senior RHP Andrew Reisinger shutdown the Boilermaker offense in four innings of relief. Reisinger allowed just one run on two hits while striking out one.
The Broncos are back in action for game three of the series on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 11:00 a.m. WMU will throw senior LHP Jacob Piechota while Purdue will throw LHP Ryan Beard.
Game One
Opening up the 2018 campaign, WMU outhit Purdue, 8-7 but was unable to combat a three-run fourth inning by the Boilermakers as the Broncos fell in game one, 5-1.
WMU's lone run came in the top of the eighth off the bat of junior Connor Smith who reached on a fielder's choice that scored Conner Henderson from third. With one out,
Henderson laced a double to right center for the Broncos first extra-base hit of the game. Junior Andrew Stone slapped a single up the middle in the next at-bat to give WMU runners on the corners before Smith scored Henderson.
The Broncos lone run in the eighth came against Purdue's closer Ross Learnard who was a NCWBA Second Team All-American a year ago. In the eighth, WMU registered one run on three hits and left two on-base.
Purdue secured the first run of the game in the bottom of the third as Skyler Hunter singled through the right side with the bases loaded. The Boilermakers added three more runs off of one hit in the bottom of the fourth as right fielder Ben Nisle hit a three-run home run.
The Boilermakers added one more run in the bottom of the eighth to extend their lead. Both Roche and Stone went 2-for-4 at the plate in game one.
Redshirt sophomore RHP Jack Szott picked up the loss for WMU going four innings, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out three. In relief, Reisinger was magnificent, holding Purdue to just one run and two hits in four innings.
Game Two
Western Michigan jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in game two of the doubleheader before Purdue scored in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings en route to a 5-1 victory.
Junior RHP Nic Laio made his first collegiate start and shutdown the Boilermakers, going four innings allowing one run on four hits and striking out three.
WMU got on the board first in the fourth inning as Grys singled through the right side, scoring Smith from second. Smith opened up the inning with a single to left field before Forestell executed a sacrifice bunt to move Smith into scoring position.
The Broncos held the lead until the bottom of the fifth before Purdue's Nick Dalesandro scored from first on a double that went all the way to the wall from Evan Kennedy. WMU had an opportunity to get back on the board in the top of the sixth, loading the bases before a pop out ended the inning.
Purdue grabbed three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Boilermakers connected on a three-straight hits including a two-run home run. The lead was extended to 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh as the leadoff hitter for the Boilermakers hit a solo home run.
In game two, WMU left seven runners on base and collected seven hits. Grys continued his stellar day at the plate in game two going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Florida Gulf Coast 12, Eastern Michigan 11
Boxscore
FT. MYERS, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) – For the second time in three games, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team lost in walk-off fashion at Florida Gulf Coast University, this time in a 12-11 slugfest Saturday afternoon, Feb. 17, at Swanson Stadium.
EMU (0-3) led for a majority of the contest, including by as much as four, but a two-run ninth-inning rally from FGCU (3-0) was enough to be the difference.
EMU's offense pounded out 17 hits on the day, out-hitting FGCU by one, including multi-hit games from six Eagle starters. Sophomore Zachary Owings (Saline, Mich.-Saline) led the way with a career day, finishing 4-for-5 with five RBIs, including his first home run in the Green and White.
Fellow sophomore Devin Hager (Commerce Township, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) added three hits, tying his career-high, while junior Max Schuemann (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) continued his hot start, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Finally, sophomore Drake Peggs (Knightstown, Ind.-Knightstown Community) also tallied two hits, including a double and RBI, while also scoring a career-high four runs.
Eastern grabbed the lead in the first inning as Owings blasted the first home run of his EMU career on a deep shot off the left field foul pole. FGCU countered with a solo homer of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game back up after one, before adding three more in the second to take a 4-1 advantage.
EMU cut into the lead in the third, getting back to within one. Peggs led things off with a walk, and Schuemann remained on fire, notching a single and advancing on the throw to make it second and third. Owings was there again with the RBI infield single to plate the first run. The second would come in when Schuemann scampered home on a bad pick-off attempt, making it 4-3.
Florida Gulf Coast kept the offensive pressure on in the bottom half of the third, getting another run to push the lead back to two, 5-3. Eastern responded though with a big two-out rally in the fourth.
With two down, redshirt freshman Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) notched the first hit of his career, an infield single, which was followed by a Hager single. Junior Cameron Cruz (Chandler, Ariz.-Hamilton (Mesa C.C.)) then knocked in the first with a third-straight base knock. After a pitching change, Cruz swiped second and the ball sailed into center, allowing Hager to score and Cruz to advance to third, tying the game. Peggs followed that up with an RBI single to give EMU the lead back, 6-5.
FGCU subbed pitchers for the second time in the frame, but to no avail as Schuemann ripped an RBI double down the right field line to give Eastern the two-run lead. FGCU made a third pitching change, but it didn't work again, as Owings tallied his third RBI of the afternoon on a single, giving Eastern its fifth run with two outs, and an 8-5 lead.
After a clean bottom of the fourth, FGCU hit another solo home run in the fifth to tighten the advantage to two. In the sixth, some sloppy FGCU play led to a couple more runs for the Green and White.
Hager led off with a bunt single and, one batter later, Peggs reached on an error, putting runners on the corners. A passed ball scored Hager, and then Owings delivered his fourth RBI on a single up the middle to get EMU's lead up to four, 10-6.
The FGCU Eagles did not back down though, getting it back to within one in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and just one out, FGCU got a walk, fielder's choice, and RBI double to cut it to 10-9 going into the final three frames.
Eastern got its first three-up, three-down inning of the game in the seventh, as senior Justin McMurtrey (Redding, Calif.-Shasta (Butte C.C.)) notched a strikeout in his 1-2-3 frame. EMU capitalized on it in the eighth as Owings secured his fifth RBI on a groundout, which scored Peggs, who led off the inning with a double. FGCU cut it to one once again in the bottom half of the eighth, setting up the ninth inning with an 11-10 score.
After EMU went in order in the top half of the ninth, FGCU rallied with two runs on three hits, the last of which was the walk-off winner, to saddle Eastern with the heartbreaking 12-11 setback.
EMU concludes its four-game series with Florida Gulf Coast tomorrow, Feb. 18. First pitch from Swanson Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
UAB 4, Bowling Green 2
Boxscore
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team lost by a score of 4-2 on Saturday (Feb. 17) afternoon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. UAB scored four runs in the eighth inning to claim the second game of the three-game series.
The opening weekend of the season will conclude tomorrow with a 2 p.m. first pitch from UAB's Regions Field.
"We have played stretches of really strong baseball in these two games, but we have yet to play a full nine innings," said head coach Danny Schmitz. "Kody Brown pitched a great game, and deserved a lot better."
In just the second-start of his career, senior southpaw Kody Brown turned in an absolute gem for the Orange and Brown. He shut out the Blazers over a career-high 6.0 innings. Brown scattered eight hits, while striking out two and walking none.
The Falcons took a 2-0 lead by scoring single runs in innings two and four. Ty Suntken scored Randy Righter with a single to right in the second, while Cam Daugherty belted a solo home run to left field in the fourth.
