Baseball Begins Conference Matchups
Friday's Scoreboard
Central Michigan 5, Ohio 3
Northern Illinois 6, Eastern Michigan 3
Ball State 8, Western Michigan 5
Miami vs. Kent State - Postponed
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Central Michigan 5, Ohio 3
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – Griffin Lockwood-Powell homered and drove in three runs on Friday as the Central Michigan baseball team downed Ohio, 5-3, in its Mid-American Conference opener at Bob Wren Stadium.
Lockwood-Powell had three hits as the Chippewas (14-6) outhit the Bobcats, 11-7.
"Today was a typical series opener, where runs can be at a premium," first-year CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "We made some mistakes, but we handled adverse moments well."
The teams meet in game two on Saturday (3 p.m.) and close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.). Ohio is 4-15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chippewas seized a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Lockwood-Powell's two-run single and an RBI grounder by Jacob Crum.
Lockwood-Powell homered in the seventh to extend the lead to 4-2, and the Chippewas added an insurance run in the ninth when Zach Gilles walked, stole second, stole third, and scored on a throwing error.
"After a slow start to the year, Lockwood-Powell has gotten better and better," Bischel said. "He has put in a ton of time preparing, and it was fun to see it pay off."
Northern Illinois 6, Eastern Michigan 3
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team opened Mid-American Conference play on the right foot Friday, earning a 6-3 win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Ralph McKinzie Field.
"It's always good to get game one on Friday," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "Anytime you can get out to a lead on Friday with your guy on the mound is a positive, and we kept on battling."
NIU (5-16, 1-0 MAC) got on the board first in the second inning. Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) was hit by a Scott Granzatto pitch to leadoff the inning. Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) followed with a single to right field. Jordan Larson(Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) then knocked a base hit through the left side of the infield, bringing in Szczasny for the game's first run. With two outs, freshman Nick Drobushevich (Moline, Ill./Moline) hit an RBI single up the middle to make the score 2-0.
Sophomore starting pitcher Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) got out of a jam in the top of the third. After striking out both Taylor Hopkins and Cameron Cruz to start the inning, Lasiewicz allowed his first hit of the game on a Zachary Owings infield single. After walking Jeff Timko, the sophomore got Nick Jones to line out to Lonteen at shortstop to end the Eastern Michigan threat.
The Huskies added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) led off with a single, getting to second base on a Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) ground out. Szczasny then singled to left field, moving Dunham to third. Lonteen brought in Dunham with an RBI groundout to give NIU a 3-0 lead. With runners at the corners and two out, Josh Mutter (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) put a bunt past Granzotto to score Szczasny and make the score 4-0.
Eastern Michigan (3-17-1, 0-1 MAC) got on the board in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Shane Easter, making the score 4-1. The Huskies got that run back in the bottom half of the inning when a Mutter sacrifice fly gave NIU a 5-1 advantage. Lasiewicz left another two runners on base in the top of the sixth, ending his day allowing one run on two hits while walking seven Eagles.
The Eagles had a chance to potentially tie the game down 6-1 in the eighth. Parker Kirkpatrick (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence), who retired the side in order in the seventh, allowed three straight singles to leadoff the inning. Kunigonis went to the bullpen for left-handed reliever Kyle Seebach (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Twp.). An error on a groundball in the infield allowed Timko to score and make the score 6-2. Nate Jones then hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, bringing in Nick Jones to get Eastern Michigan within three at 6-3. Seebach then got Easter to ground out and struck out Jacob Bolton looking to end the inning. Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) retired the side in order in the ninth to lock up the win for the Huskies.
"Kyle has been awesome," Kunigonis said. "He should have gotten out of that inning clean, but he's been fantastic and a big part of our success."
Drobushevich and Dunham each had two hits for NIU, with Mutter recording two RBI. Szczasny reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 1-for-1 with two walks and four runs scored. Lasiewicz earned his third straight win while Thomas recorded his third save of the year.
Game two of this weekend's series is Saturday at 1 p.m.
Ball State 8, Western Michigan 5
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State baseball team built a six-run lead and held off Western Michigan for an 8-5 victory Friday in the Mid-American Conference opener.
Designated hitter Andre Orselli drove in four runs, including three on a fifth-inning triple that gave Ball State control on a blustery afternoon.
After Western Michigan rallied to pull within two runs, Kyle Nicolas came out of the bullpen and worked a perfect final two and a third innings to preserve the win.
This weekend's series was moved to Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex because of poor field conditions in Kalamazoo. Game two will be played Saturday at 1 p.m.
"Our offense did a nice job today," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "I thought Drey (Jameson) was good while he was in there, and Kyle Nicolas was outstanding at the end. We only gave up one walk for the whole game. That's huge, especially on a day like today where if you hit the ball really high in the air to right, it might go out."
Orselli's three-run triple came as part of a five-run fifth inning for Ball State. Ross Messina and John Ricotta, who both homered earlier in the game, drove in the other two runs. The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate and collected six hits in the inning. By the time the dust settled, a 2-1 lead had swelled to 7-1.
Messina, Orselli and Ricotta, the heart of Ball State's order, combined to drive in all eight of the Cardinals' runs.
Drey Jameson started on the mound for BSU. He struck out six and surrendered just one run before exiting in the top of the fifth.
Western Michigan began to rally in the sixth against BSU reliever Nick Floyd, cutting into the deficit with two-run homers from Jimmy Roche and Ethan Hajdukovic over the next two frames to pull within two.
Nicolas then came on with runners at the corners and two outs in the seventh and struck out Nate Grys to minimize the damage. He went on to tally three more strikeouts while sending the Broncos down in order in both the eighth and ninth.
