Sunday’s Baseball Results
Western Michigan 10, Ohio 6
Northern Illinois 12, Bowling Green 4
Miami 13, Central Michigan 8
Ball State 9, Toledo 1
Kent State 6, Eastern Michigan 4
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Western Michigan 10, Ohio 6
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio – Western Michigan scored six unanswered runs including five in the seventh inning to claim the series victory over Ohio with a 10-6 game three win on Sunday at Bob Wren Stadium.
With the win, WMU has now won five of its last six Mid-American Conference series and improves its overall record to 22-23 and 11-11 in conference play. It's the first time since 2016 that the Broncos have won five conference series.
For the fourth straight game the Broncos registered double digit hits, collecting 10 runs on 14 hits. It's the sixth time this season WMU has scored 10 or more runs in a game.
WMU trailed 6-4 heading into the top of the seventh before the Brown & Gold offense exploded for five runs on five hits in the seventh. The Broncos added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to score six unanswered runs and claim the four-run victory.
Freshman Blake Dunn continued his dominance at the plate against the Bobcats going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored on Sunday. Over the weekend the Saugatuck, Mich., native went 9-for-14 with four RBIs, two runs scored and two doubles.
Leading off for the Broncos was junior Connor Smith who went 3-for-6 with a career-high three doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Smith now has 18 multi-hit games this season and six multi-RBI games.
Eight of the nine batters in WMU's starting line-up registered a hit on Sunday with five Broncos having multi-hit games. Redshirt freshman Logan Hudson earned his third multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-3 with a career-high two RBIs and a career-high two runs scored.
The one through five batters carried the Bronco offense, recording a staggering .400 batting average while driving in seven of the team's 10 runs and scoring five runs.
WMU used four pitchers against Ohio on Sunday, giving up just seven hits while striking out four. Redshirt senior Jimmy Townsend-Chase earned the victory for the Broncos, going three innings allowing two runs on four hits. Townsend-Chase now has an overall record of 1-2.
In relief, sophomore RHP Zach Mehelich was phenomenal on the mound throwing three innings of scoreless and hitless ball while striking out four Ohio batters. Mehelich earned his first save of the season and retired 10 of the final 11 batters.
To end the season, Western Michigan travels to Muncie, Ind. for a three-game series against Ball State beginning on Thursday, May 17. The Broncos will look to secure a spot in the MAC Tournament for the fifth year in a row as the top six teams advance to Avon, Ohio.
Once again the Broncos got on the board first in the first inning, marking the third straight game doing so. With two outs, junior Jimmy Roche reached on an error before a walk gave WMU runners on first and second with two outs. Dunn delivered once again for the Brown & Gold with an RBI single through the left side to score Roche and give WMU an early 1-0 lead.
Ohio responded quickly in the bottom of the first scoring four runs on two hits, highlighted by a three-run home run by Tanner Piechnick.
WMU scored once more in the second before collecting two runs in the top of the third to tie the game at 4-4 through three innings. In the third the Brown & Gold led off the inning with a double by Roche before a triple by junior Nate Grys scored Roche to cut the Ohio lead to one. Three pitches later, Dunn earned his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Grys and tying the game.
The score remained 4-4 until the fifth when Ohio grabbed one run on one hit as a sacrifice fly to centerfield gave the Bobcats the lead once again. Ohio extended its lead in the sixth after a two out RBI single to left field scored a Bobcat runner from second.
Trailing 6-4 heading into the top of the seventh, the Bronco offense came to life with five runs on five hits to take a commanding 9-6 lead. WMU loaded the bases with one out prior to Logan Hudson lacing a two RBI single to left center field to tie the game at 6-6.
WMU regained the lead after a wild pitch with runners on the corners scored DeVine from third to give the Broncos a 7-6 lead. After a fly out to left field, Connor Smith roped an RBI double to left field to score Hudson from second and open up the Bronco lead. Two pitches later on an 0-1 count, redshirt junior Andrew Stone singled through the right side to score Smith and give WMU a 9-6 advantage.
In the top of the ninth, the Broncos added an insurance run off the bat of Smith. A pop-out to the Ohio first baseman was the first out of the inning before Logan Hudson rocketed a double off the left field wall to give WMU a runner in scoring position.
With two outs, Smith connected on his third double of the day to left center field, once again scoring Hudson to extend the Bronco lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Mehelich's dominance continued recording back-to-back strikeouts to begin the inning before a groundout ended the game and secured the series victory for the Broncos.
Northern Illinois 12, Bowling Green 4
Boxscore
BOWLING GREEN, OH – A 4 for 6 day from senior Samuel Vega (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Southwestern Junior College) led the Northern Illinois University baseball team to a series' win with a 12-4 triumph over host Bowling Green at Steller Field Sunday afternoon.
Vega smacked his third home run of the season as the Huskies connected for Mid-American Conference season-high 17 hits in improving their overall record to 19-32, and 8-16 in the MAC.
"Great series' win," Huskies' head coach Mike Kunigonis said. "We saw a lot of very good things from this team. We battled at the plate all day and battled on the mound to get the victory."
The Huskies raced to a 7-0 lead by plating two runs in the first inning, one in the second and four in the third as they earned their third win in the last four games. A Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) two-run double staked NIU to a 2-0 lead in the first, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Hunter Bross (Scottsdale, Ariz./Mesa Community College) put the Huskies ahead 3-0. Smith then drove in two more runs in the third when he laced a two-RBI single to left field, and Bross followed with a two-RBI single for a 7-0 Huskies' lead.
"We had a lot of guys have solid days at the plate," Kunigonis said.
Bowling Green closed within three when it plated a run in the fourth and three in the third, but Vega's smash in the sixth doubled up NIU's advantage coupled with a run-scoring single to give the Huskies a 9-4 advantage. A Ty Jandrowski (Kenosha, Wis./Madison College) RBI double then highlighted the offense in the final two frames as NIU polished off the win with two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Junior RHP William Anderson (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) earned his second win of the season as he worked five strong innings. He scattered eight hits and gave up four runs while striking out five batters and walking one.
"Will battled and grinded it out to get the win for us." Kunigonis said.
Along with Vega, Jandrowski connected for three hits, while Smith, Scooter Bynum (Fairbanks, Alaska /Arizona Western College) and Joe Jumonville (Munster, Ind./Munster) each had two of the Huskies' 17 hits.
"We need to continue this momentum to finish out the season strong," Kunigonis said.
NIU steps out of MAC play Tuesday when it travels to UW-Milwaukee for a 3 p.m. contest with the Panthers.
Miami 13, Central Michigan 8
Boxscore
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami baseball team collected its seventh conference series win eight tries as it came through with a 13-8 victory over Central Michigan on Sunday.
For the fourth straight game, the RedHawks (31-17, 15-9 MAC) put up at least a run in their first chance at the plate. Cristian Tejada led off with a walk and went first to third two batters later thanks to a Hayden Senger single up the middle. Landon Stephens then drove in Tejada with a base hit to left. A wild pitch allowed Senger and Stephens to move up to third and second base, respectively, setting up a Will Vogelgesang RBI groundout. The inning handed MU a 2-0 lead after one.
The Chippewas quickly cut the deficit in half with a single tally in the top of the second, striking on an RBI single.
CMU would grab a 3-2 advantage in the third, scoring on an error and an RBI triple. However, Miami would come right back with a Ross Haffey solo blast in the bottom half of the frame to put the score at 3-3.
A three-run fourth thrusted the ‘Hawks back in front, 6-3. Kyle Winkler got things started by drawing a one-out walk and came all the way around to score on a Dallas Hall triple. Parker Massman then drove Hall in on a base hit to left. Following the second out of the frame, Massman stole second and Tejada worked a walk to keep the inning alive. Haffey then reached on an infield single to load the bases. MU’s final run of the inning came courtesy of a wild pitch as the speedy Massman took home.
The Red & White widened their margin in the fifth. Vogelgesang began the frame with a triple to left center and, two batters later, Hall reached via a walk to put runners on the corners. Massman then brought in Vogelgesang with a base hit through the right side. Hall went first to third on the knock, helping set the table for an Adrian Texidor sacrifice fly to make it 8-3.
Miami got another run in the sixth courtesy of some two-out hitting. Senger ripped a single through the left side and came home on a Stephens triple the next at bat.
A four-run seventh helped the ‘Hawks add to their lead yet again. Massman worked a two-out walk and scored on a Texidor double. Tejada then walked to put two on for Haffey, who belted his second homer of the day over the right field wall to make it 13-3.
CMU scored three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to make things somewhat interesting but Miami held on to grab the 13-8 victory.
RedHawk starting pitcher Gus Graham went six innings strong, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out six. He picked up the win and moved to 6-0 on the season in the process.
Miami has just one regular season series left on the slate as they host Kent State this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Ball State 9, Toledo 1
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – Ball State starting pitcher Evan Marquardt equaled his career highs in innings pitched (7.0) and strikeouts (9) in a convincing 9-1 win at Toledo Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Ball State (28-23, 15-9 MAC) locks up one of the six spots in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which begins on May 23. The Cardinals are currently tied with Miami for the second spot in the league standings with three league games remaining. The top two seeds receive a bye in the first round of the tournament.
The Cardinals gave Marquardt a quick 3-0 lead after their first two at-bats and that proved to be more than enough for the righty. After Toledo responded with a two-out run in the bottom of the second, Marquardt retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced.
"The guys played a solid game today behind outstanding pitching from Evan Marquardt," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "We had a lot of guys contribute."
Ball State was able to break open the game with two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth. Sophomore Noah Powell had an RBI double in the fifth and a two-run single in the sixth.
Powell finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Junior John Ricotta walked four times while junior Chase Sebby reached base safely for the 30th consecutive game thanks to a walk in the sixth inning.
The Cardinals wrap up the regular season this week with four home games. First up is a non-conference tilt against Fort Wayne on Tuesday, May 15.
Kent State 6, Eastern Michigan 4
Boxscore
KENT, OHIO – Kent State inched one step closer to its third consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season title on Sunday when the Golden Flashes slipped past Eastern Michigan, 6-4.
KSU scored four in the third after a bases loaded walk preceded Pete Schuler's bases-clearing double to left center. EMU closed to the gap to 4-2 in the fifth but the Flashes got them right back when Pavin Parks tripled in a run and Schuler knocked in another. It gave the good guys a 6-2 lead.
Fittingly on this Senior Day, venerable lefty Eli Kraus kept marching up the KSU career wins list. The southpaw tossed six and two-thirds innings, striking out nine. He won his 25th career game and tied Mike Nartker for third on the all-time list.
With the victory, Kent State will keep at least a three-game lead in the MAC. They can clinch the title on Thursday with a win over Miami or a loss by the second place team(s). KSU will travel to Eastwood Field on Tuesday for a noon match-up with Youngstown State.
