Mid-American Conference

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Miami University baseball team had an offensive explosion in completing a series sweep of Bowling Green with a pair of victories on Saturday. In the opener, junior pitcher Spencer Mraz nearly threw a no-hitter, while Miami pounded out 20 hits in a 15-2 victory. The RedHawks continued to score runs as they outlasted the Falcons, 10-8, in the nightcap. With its fifth straight victory, Miami is now 29-6 overall and 10-2 in the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green is 12-19 overall and 5-7 in the MAC.
 
GAME 1
Mraz was the story of the first game. He did not allow a single hit over the first 7.0 innings, in a bid for Miami's first no-hitter since 1980. He allowed only two walks and barely allowed Bowling Green to make any contact, recording a career-high 13 strikeouts. The Falcons got a leadoff double to open the bottom of the eighth to break up Mraz's no-hitter bid, their only hit of the game. While BGSU would go on to score two runs in that inning on a pair of bases loaded walks, Mraz earned his fifth win of the season, throwing 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on that one hit.
 
The RedHawks got on the board in the top of the first when redshirt junior second baseman Jordan Stephens doubled home junior shortstop Will Vogelgesang.
 
Miami broke it open with five runs in the top of the third. After sophomore center fielder Cristian Tejada led off with a double, Vogelgesang was hit by a pitch. Each of them stole a base. Junior third baseman Landon Stephens singled through the left side to score Tejada, while Vogelgesang scored off an error by the Falcons' first baseman. After a single by Jordan Stephens, a double by redshirt junior left fielder Kyle Winkler brought home Landon Stephens and made it 4-0. Jordan Stephens scored on a single by freshman designated hitter Cole Andrews, while Winkler scored despite a RedHawk double play to give Miami a 6-0 advantage.
 
It stayed that way until the top of the seventh. Redshirt freshman Reid Norberg singled through the left side to score senior designated hitter Mackay Williams. Bases loaded walks by Tejada and Vogelgesang each brought in runs that made it 9-0.
 
Winkler's fourth home run of the season, a solo shot over the left field wall gave Miami a 10-0 lead.
 
In the top of the ninth, Jordan Stephens drove in Tejada, Winkler drove in Landon Stephens to make it 12-2. With two runners on, junior catcher Cal Elvers blasted a shot over the left field wall for his fourth home run of the year to make it 15-2 and complete scoring for the game.
 
Miami had a season-high 20 hits in the game. Tejada, Jordan Stephens and Winkler had three each. Winkler was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three run scored. Eighth different RedHawks finished with multiple hits in the contest.
 
GAME 2
Miami got on the board quickly in the top of the first when Landon Stephens doubled and then eventually scored on an error. Bowling Green answered with three runs in the bottom of the first to go in front for the first time in the entire series, 3-1.
 
That lead would be short lived as the RedHawks stormed back for four runs in the top of the second. Elvers led off with a walk. Norberg followed with a single. Each runner moved up a base on a wild pitch. Williams hit an infield single that scored Elvers. A single to left field by Tejada scored Norberg and tied the score at three. Miami went in front after a wild pitch brought home Williams. A sac fly by Jordan Stephens scored Tejada and made it 5-3.
 
A sac fly by Winkler in the top of the fifth that scored Jordan Stephens and Elvers' second home run of the day, a solo shot in the top of the sixth increased the RedHawk advantage to 7-3.
 
Meanwhile senior pitcher Jack Corbell had settled down after a rough first inning. He kept the Falcons off the board the next four innings, until they were able to get two back in the bottom of the sixth.
After Bowling Green pulled to within one in the bottom of the seventh, senior closer Andy Almquist came in to the game with one out and two runners on. He was able to retire the side, but not before an infield hit allowed the Falcons to tie the game at seven apiece.
 
Miami quickly refocused in the top of the eighth. Winkler led off with a single. Andrews was then hit by a pitch. A sac bunt by Elvers moved each of them up a base. After Norberg was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out, sophomore Parker Massman came in to pinch hit. His fielder's choice groundout broke the tie when Winkler came home to score. Andrews would then score on the next play to make it 9-7 when the BGSU first baseman committed an error.
 
After Almquist put the Falcons down in order in the bottom of the eight, the RedHawks got one more in the top of the ninth when a Winkler sac fly scored Vogelgesang. Bowling Green got one back in the bottom of the frame on a sac fly of its own, but Almquist got a pop up to finish off the 10-8 win.
 
Winkler finished the game 1-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored. Tejada, Landon Stephens, Jordan Stephens and Norberg each had two hits for the RedHawks.
 
Almquist earned his third victory of the season by pitching the final 2.2 innings. He allowed one run on three hits.
 
Miami returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Cincinnati for a 6 p.m. contest. The RedHawks will be at home next weekend for an important series against Ball State. Friday's game starts at 5 p.m. and is the annual Walter "Smokey" Alston Night. Saturday's contest is at 4 p.m. and next Sunday's finale is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Western Michigan 10, Northern Illinois 4 -- Boxscore
Northern Illinois 12, Western Michigan 6 -- Boxscore

KALAMAZOO, Mich.  – Western Michigan baseball earned its first Mid-American Conference series victory of the season on Saturday splitting its doubleheader with Northern Illinois inside Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The Broncos won the first game 10-4 before falling in the series finale, 12-6.

WMU claimed its first conference series victory since take two of three from Ohio, May 11-13 of last season. It was the Broncos' first series victory at home since defeating Central Michigan, 2-1 back on April 20-22, 2018. On the weekend the Broncos scored 25 runs on 39 hits with a staggering team batting average of .355.

During the three-game series against the Huskies, senior Cooper Marshall was dominant at the plate going 7-for-10 with six RBIs and five runs scored. Junior Drew Devine ranked second on the team with .417 batting average with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs. As a team, WMU had six players hit over .300 for the weekend.

Sophomore Blake Dunn extended his reached base streak to a staggering 33 games over the weekend after going 5-for-13 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs. Against NIU, the Saugatuck, Mich., native posted a .538 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base percentage.

On the mound over the weekend the Broncos gave up just 18 earned runs on 38 hits while striking out 28 Northern Illinois' batters. Senior Chris Modrzynski along with junior Zach Mehelich led the team with five strikeouts each.

In the two games on Saturday, WMU had seven players hit over .300 with Marshall leading the way going 5-for-7 at the plate. Marshall along with sophomore Justin McIntyre led the team during the doubleheader with three RBIs each.

With the series victory Western Michigan improved its overall record to 11-21 and 4-6 in conference play. The Broncos will be back in action with two midweek games beginning on Tuesday, April 16 at Valparaiso. WMU returns home on Wednesday, April 17 for a match-up with Grace College beginning at 3:05 p.m.

Game One (WMU – 10, NIU – 4)
Western Michigan opened its doubleheader on Saturday with a 10-4 victory over Northern Illinois to clinch the series. The Broncos registered 10 runs on 16 hits with six Bronco batters registering multi-hit games.

Drew Devine led the Broncos at the plate going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Joining Devine with multi-RBIs was redshirt senior Andrew Stone and Justin McIntyre with two each.

Hitting second in the line-up, senior Jimmy Roche went 3-for-5 with an RBI for his eighth multi-hit game of the season. Fellow senior Jesse Forestell earned his fourth multi-hit game of the year in game one going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

The Broncos got a stellar start on the mound from freshman RHP Brady Mille to earn his second victory of the season. Miller threw 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out four. In relief the trio of freshman Easton Sikorski, junior Brandon Peterson and senior Matt McConnell allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts.

After being held scoreless in the first inning the Broncos got on the board in the bottom of the second scoring four runs on five hits to gain an early lead. With runners on the corners with one out, Devine blasted a two RBI double to right center field, scoring Hudson and Forestell to give WMU a 2-0 lead.

An error by the NIU pitcher moved Devine over to third for Cooper Marshall who registered a sacrifice fly to extend the Bronco lead. With two outs the Brown & Gold amassed back-to-back singles prior to Jimmy Roche lacing a two-RBI single into left field to give WMU a 4-0 advantage through two innings of play.

NIU gained a run back in the top of the third before the WMU offense struck once again for three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on second and third with one out, Andrew Stone slapped a softly hit single into left field to score both runs and propel the Bronco lead to 6-1. Two batters later Blake Dunn skied a sacrifice fly into right field to bring Stone home from third and extend the WMU lead to six.

In the bottom of the fifth the Broncos propelled their lead to eight thanks to the bat of Justin McIntyre. The sophomore infielder laced a two RBI single to right field, scoring Devine and Forestell to make it 9-1 in favor of the Brown & Gold.

Northern Illinois cut into the lead with two runs in the sixth followed by one run in the eighth before WMU scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to hold a 10-4 lead heading into the final inning of play. In the ninth, RHP Matt McConnell shut down the Huskie offense recording back-to-back groundouts followed by a strikeout to secure the victory and the series.

Game Two (WMU – 6, NIU – 12)
In the series finale and game two of Saturday's doubleheader the Broncos scored six runs on 11 hits but was unable to keep up with the Northern Illinois offense in a 12-6 defeat.

Blake Dunn and Cooper Marshall were the lone Broncos to record multi-hit games in game two. Marshall led the offense going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs while Dunn hitting in the clean-up spot went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Junior Ethan Hajdukovic was 1-for-5 on the day, blasting his third home run of the season over the right field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hajdukovic finished the day with one RBI and one run scored.

On the mound the Broncos used four different pitchers, totaling 10 strikeouts. Junior Zach Mehelich led the WMU pitching staff going 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while matching his career-high with five strikeouts.

NIU got on the board first in game two thanks to a sacrifice fly to second field in the top of the second to give the Huskies an early 1-0 advantage.

WMU responded in the bottom of the second collecting three runs on two hits to regain the lead. The Broncos posted runners on second and third with one out before Marshall rocketed a two RBI single back up the middle to give WMU its first lead of the game.

After a passed ball advanced Marshall to third, Justin McIntyre executed a bunt down the right field line that just stayed fair to score Marshall and give WMU a 3-1 lead after two innings. The Broncos added to their lead in the bottom of the third as redshirt sophomore Logan Hudson grounded out to short that scored Blake Dunn from third.

WMU held a 4-1 advantage heading into the top of the fourth before the NIU offense came to live scoring two runs in the fourth, five in the fifth, two in the sixth and two in the seventh to take grab a 12-5 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ethan Hajdukovic took the first ball he saw over the right field wall for his third home run of the season to cut into the Husky advantage. However, that was the final run scored for the Broncos as NIU retired nine of the final 10 WMU batters to clinch game three, 12-6.

MUNCIE - Just a game out of first in the MAC standings and unbeaten at home, Ball State had a lot on the line this weekend against Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals won the series, splitting Saturday's doubleheader while scoring 16 runs on 26 hits for the day.
 
Ball State (23-12, 7-3 MAC) won the Saturday noon game 11-5 before EMU answered in the nightcap 7-5.
 
For the day, William Baker had 4 hits, 3 RBIs and scored 3 runs. Noah Powell and Chase Sebby each had 4 hits, doubled twice and scored twice for the Cardinals. Defensively, John Ricotta made several scoops at 1st base as well as a nice play down the line and another in foul territory. Justin Conant also made a diving play at 2nd base.
 
John Baker improved to 4-1 on the year with a winning effort in the opening game, which was finished with 4 shutout innings from Nick Floyd. Floyd earned his first save of the season.
 
The 3-1 week at home - Ball State also won over Butler on Tuesday - leads the Cardinals for a high-profile stretch over the next 10 days. Rich Maloney's squad will play at Indiana Tuesday, April 16 before a MAC series at Miami. Then the Cardinals will be the home team against Indiana at Victory Field on April 23. Ball State is now 2 games out of 1st, but just 1 in the loss column behind Miami.
 
Here's what happened in Saturday's games:
 
BALL STATE 11, EASTERN MICHIGAN 5 (Box Score | Twitter Thread)
Baker and Floyd did the job on the mound and the Cardinals hit 3 home runs to turn an early 3-1 deficit into a resounding victory. John Ricotta belted a home run to key a 3-run bottom of the 3rd that gave the Cardinals a lead that Baker and Floyd would bring home. With the scored tied 5-5 in the 5th, Will Baker pulled a high blast out to left for a 2-run shot and Sebby added an RBI single in the 6th.
 
A 2-run, no doubt homer to right by Tim Blankenberger keyed a 3-run 7th inning that put the game away and clinched the series for Ball State.
 
Baker punched out 7 over 5 innings, but did allow 5 runs. Floyd then protected the lead with an efficient 53 pitches to get 12 outs. It was Floyd's longest outing since May 2018.
 
Nate Jones led EMU in the early game with 4 RBIs, coming on a 2-run homer in the 3rd and a 2-run single in the 5th.
 
EASTERN MICHIGAN 7, BALL STATE 5 (Box Score | Twitter Thread)
Ball State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but Eastern Michigan scored 6 runs (2 unearned) over a 3-inning span to take a 6-3 lead. Zach Owings, EMU's big bat who didn't play Friday, doubled in the 1st and homered in the 4th as the Eagles seemed to stay one step ahead of the Cardinals.
 
A misplayed ball with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd inning resulted in 2 runs and the Cardinals would see their rally fall short.
 
Trailing 7-5 in the 9th inning, Ball State had the tying run on 1st base after Sebby doubled and Ricotta reached on an error. The Cards ran out of outs and EMU managed to salvage the final game of the weekend.
 
Ross Messina had 2 singles and an RBI groundout while Powell had 2 hits and a walk. Mike Pachmayer and Lukas Jaksich each threw 2 shutout innings of relief for the Cards. Ball State relievers allowed just 1 run over 8 innings on the day.

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio Baseball team (10-23, 5-7 MAC) spilt a doubleheader with Toledo (11-21, 2-8 MAC) at Bob Wren Stadium on Saturday. Ohio won the first game, 5-2 and lost the second game, 12-8.
 
Ohio was led by redshirt freshman Jack Liberatore (Greensburg, Pa.), who tossed 7.2 shutout innings while allowing just five batters to reach base. Liberatore did not walk one batter and fanned a career-high eight while improving to 4-4.
 
At the plate, Ohio drew eight walks as a team and three Bobcats – sophomore INF Aaron Levy (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior INF Rudy Rott (Holmen, Wis.) and redshirt sophomore INF Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.) – had two walks.
 
Redshirt freshman INF Cole Revels (Charlotte, N.C.), junior INF Trevor Hafner (Perrysburg, Ohio) and sophomore INF Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) each had one RBI.
 
Revels reached base three times after going 1-for-2 with two walks and a single with one run scored.
 
The Bobcats took the lead in the third inning when redshirt junior Nathan Mallott (Omaha, Neb.) scored on a wild pitch. Fabik moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt and redshirt freshman OF Trevor Lukkes (Tustin, Calif.) advanced him to third on a groundout.
 
Mallott was Ohio's only multi-hit effort of the game, going 2-for-3 with two singles and two runs scored. Mallott reached base three times, adding one walk.
 
Ohio extended its lead in the fifth inning on a Revels fielder's choice that scored Levy.
 
Fabik pushed Ohio's advantage to 3-0 with a sacrifice bunt to score Hafner. Mallott scored later in the winning on a wild pitch.
 
Hafner brought home Ohio's final run with a sacrifice fly to right field in the seventh that scored Richardson.
 
Toledo added two runs in the ninth inning on a Dylan Davis single and Riley Campbell single for the final of 5-2.
 
Sophomore LHP Brett Manis (Port Huron, Mich.) pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out one batter.
 
Layne Schnitz-Paxton earned the loss for Toledo after allowing four earned runs in 6.0 innings.
 
The Bobcats were led by sophomore INF Treyben Funderburg (Beavercreek, Ohio), who was perfect 3-for-3 with a season-best three RBI.  Funderburg had a three singles and a sacrifice fly.
 
Hafner knocked in two RBI and was 2-for-5 with two singles.
 
Levy had two extra base hits as he went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and two runs scored while knocking in one RBI.
 
Toledo jumped out to an early three run lead when Drew Compton, Tyler Eitniear and John Serevello all had RBI singles in the second inning.
 
Ohio got one run back on a Funderburg sacrifice fly that scored Richardson.
 
The Bobcats took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Funderburg walked in a run that cut the Rockets advantage down to 3-2. Hafner then ripped a single down the right field line that brought home Richardson and Rott.
 
Toledo grabbed the lead in the top of the sixth after plating five runs.
 
Ohio answered In the bottom half of the inning. A Mallott sacrifice fly to left field scored Funderburg. After Fabik doubled to left center, Hafner scored. The Bobcats then cut the lead down to 8-7 with a fielder's choice that scored Fabik.
 
Fabik finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, single, one RBI and one run scored.
 
Toledo scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth to push its advantage back to 12-7.
 
Funderburg drove in one run on a single to left field in the ninth but Ohio was unable to strike again for the final score of 12-8
Freshman LHP Joe Rock (Aliquippa, Pa.) fell to 2-4 this season after allowing four earned runs in the sixth inning.
 
Senior RHP Kenny Ogg (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start for Ohio and tossed 5.0 innings. Ogg allowed three earned runs and fanned three batters.
 
Freshman RHP Braxton Kelly (Ulysses, Ky.) tossed 2.2 innings and allowed two earned runs. Kelly struck out three batters.
 
Redshirt senior Nick Kamrada (Grand Ledge, Mich.) allowed one earned run in 0.1 innings.
 
One earned run crossed the plate in 0.1 innings while junior LHP Nick Byrnes (Cincinnati, Ohio) was pitching while sophomore RHP Chace Harris (New Marshfield, Ohio) did not allow a runner to reach in 0.2 innings. Harris struck out one of the two batters he faced.

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University baseball team (15-18, 5-5 MAC) earned its second Mid-American Conference series victory of the season, splitting a double header with Central Michigan (25-10, 8-4 MAC) at Schoonover Stadium Saturday. The Chippewas earned a 7-4 victory in the first game, but the Flashes rallied to pick up a 12-4 win in the nightcap to win the series 2-1.
 
Freshman Justin Kirby had a monster day at the plate, going 6-for-7 with two home runs, two doubles and a triple. The rookie was just a single shy of hitting for the cycle, picking up a walk in his third at bat and narrowly missing his fifth trip to the plate with the Kent State offense ending the day with Kirby on deck. Kirby scored five times on the day and collected three RBIs on the day.
 
"For the team to come back and be resilient after a tough loss in the first game, that was good to see," Head Coach Jeff Duncan said. "We attacked the game the whole weekend and our lineup is really coming around and being aggressive. We are starting to dictate the game."
 
Game 1: Central Michigan 7, Kent State 4
 
Junior John Matthews started on the mound in the first game of the day, going 5.0 innings and striking out seven. Redshirt sophomore threw 3.0 scoreless innings of relief, adding three punch outs on the day. Sophomore Jack Zimmerman and senior Pavin Parks closed out the day with a combined three strikeouts, however Parks (1-1) suffered the loss in the ninth inning.
 
The Chippewas struck first, jumping out to a 4-0 lead through the first three innings.
 
The Flashes cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third as Kirby started a four-hit, two-run rally with a one-out double to right field. Redshirt sophomore Ben Carew followed with a single that advanced Kirby to third before he stole second base. Junior Cam Touchette notched the first KSU RBI of the day, scoring Kirby on a ground ball to shortstop. Sophomore Michael Turner added a run with an RBI-single up the middle to score Carew and bring the score to 4-2.
 
Kirby tied the game at 4-4 with a two-out, two-run home run rocketed out to left-center field in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
The score remained until the top of the ninth inning as the Chippewas loaded the bases on free passes and eventually scored three runs without recording a hit in the inning to win the game 7-4.
 
The Flashes totaled eight hits in the loss and Kirby led the team going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Carew and junior Alex Ronnebaum also added a hit and a run apiece heading into the nightcap.
 
Game 2: Kent State 12, Central Michigan 4
 
The Flashes bounced back in the series finale, commanding the game from the first inning. The Kent State offense collected 15 hits with five Flashes recording multi-hit games. Kirby went 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, triple, double and a walk. The Alpharetta, Ga. native scored three runs with an RBI. Carew and senior Kian O'Brien notched three hits apiece while Parks and redshirt sophomore Kevin Dobos added a pair of hits on the game.
 
O'Brien and Parks also knocked home runs to highlight the series finale.
 
Kent State took a commanding 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never relented, going on to score in six of eight frames.
 
Carew led off the first inning with a bunt-single and advanced to second on a single up the middle by Touchette. With one out, O'Brien recorded his sixth home run of the season, a three-run blasted to left-center field. A pitch later, Parks made it back-to-back jacks, launching a solo home run to right field. A triple to center by Kirby in the next at bat forced Central Michigan to dip into the bull pen with its starter only throwing 0.1 innings. Following the pitching change, Hollander scored Kirby with a sharp infield ground ball.
 
The Flashes extended the lead to 6-0 an inning later as Carew doubled, stole third and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
 
The Chippewas responded with three runs in the top of the third, but they would not score again until the top of the ninth.
 
Kent State brought the score to 8-3 in the fourth with Carew swatting an RBI-single up the middle and Turner picking up an RBI on an infield ground ball.
 
Dobos singled to left field to score Kirby an inning later before the Flashes added three more runs between the seventh and eighth innings to bring the score to 12-3.
 
Parks doubled to left-center to score O'Brien and Kirby sent his second home run of the day over the wall in left field in the seventh inning. An inning later, O'Brien rounded out Kent State's scoring with an RBI-single up the middle.
 
The Chippewas managed a run in the top of the ninth to bring the final score to 12-4.
 
Freshman Luke Albright (3-1) dazzled on the mound for the Flashes, pitching 6.1 innings in long relief to pick up the win in the nightcap. The rookie hurler allowed just one run on four hits while striking out three. Redshirt freshman Trevor Pittman started the game, tossing 2.2 innings with two punch outs.
 
The Flashes will host Pitt for a midweek matchup at Schoonover Stadium on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 p.m. before hitting the road to Northern Illinois to continue MAC play next weekend.