Chippewas Win 14th Straight
Friday’s Baseball Results
Central Michigan 11, Miami 4
Ball State 7, Toledo 6
Western Michigan 7, Ohio 1
Kent State 5, Eastern Michigan 4
NIU 7, Bowling Green 5
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Central Michigan 11, Miami 4
Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Jacob Crum had three hits, Griffin Lockwood-Powell drove in four runs, and Ryan Palmblad was superb out of the bullpen on Friday as the Chippewas defeated Miami (Ohio), 11-4, in a MAC game at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The win, CMU's 13th consecutive, lifted the Chippewas to 21-5 in the MAC and 42-12 overall. The series and regular-season finale is set for Saturday (1 p.m.).
A win gives the Chippewas the title, their first since 2015.
"We get a chance to play with a lot on the line tomorrow," first-year CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "Any time you're playing the last game of the season with a championship on the line, you have nothing to hang your head about either way. You've got to enjoy those experiences. A lot of kids don't get that chance and we've got to enjoy it.
"I will probably push harder (on Saturday) than I have all year (for the players) to enjoy it. They're life memories for these guys and that's what matters."
The Chippewas strung together three walks and then got an RBI single from Crum and then an RBI groundout from Jason Sullivan in the sixth inning to seize a 4-3 lead.
They pulled away with three runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth. Crum ripped a two-run triple in the seventh and then Lockwood-Powell hit a three-run double in the eighth.
The Chippewas managed just one hit off Miami starter Spencer Mraz, who went 5 1/3 innings, before they finally broke through and got into the RedHawk bullpen.
"Really proud of what our guys did today," Bischel said. "We were obviously getting beaten up pretty good early and we just kept going. (Mraz) was awfully good. You've got to tip the cap sometimes. I was just hoping at some point he'd hit a little bit of a wall.
"We talked this week about good at-bats. It's not always your hit total that generates offense, it's good at-bats and we did string them together in the latter half of that game."
Chippewa starter Cam Brown surrendered three runs on eight hits through five innings before giving way to Palmblad (4-0), who struck out three and surrendered just one hit over three innings.
After the Chippewas took their 4-3 lead, Palmblad, a freshman left-hander, set down Miami's Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters in order in the seventh.
"Pretty impressive for a freshman to come out with those stakes and do that," Bischel said. "We trusted him there and he ran with it. Really a tremendous job."
Crum's triple was his eighth of the season. He entered the game tied for fifth nationally in triples. Lockwood-Powell's four RBI gave him 68 on the season, and moved him ahead of teammate Zavier Warren for the MAC lead. Lockwood-Powell ranks among the top 10 nationally in that category.
While the Chippewas came up empty against the hard-throwing 6-foot-10 Mraz through four-plus innings, they stayed the course and won in come-from-behind fashion, something they have shown a knack of doing in the recent past.
"A few weeks ago we were down to Western Michigan to start this winning streak and we came back and won and that was kind of the first time we did it all year," Bischel said. "It's amazing, once you see yourselves do it, you don't panic when you fall behind.
"Today would have been the day to panic a little bit. We were really struggling, with a little bit on the line, and we just kept going. That's really a credit to these guys for trusting themselves."
The Chippewas will celebrate and honor their nine seniors before Saturday's game. That they are playing for the coveted league title adds a certain amount of luster to the day, said Bischel, who was named the Chippewas' head coach last June.
"It's special for me because of our kids," he said. "We had nine seniors and when I got here I made it clear to them on day one that … these are our guys and for nine guys it's their last chance to suit 'em up (at home), and to play for a championship. That's special."
Ball State 7, Toledo 6
Boxscore
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team tallied two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 7-6 win over Toledo and keep its hopes alive at a Mid-American Conference regular season title. Andre Orselli tallied the winning single, a bouncer up the middle, to score Nick Powell with the winning run.
The win pushes Ball State's (35-17, 19-5 MAC) home record to an amazing 19-1. The Cardinals are neck-and-neck with Central Michigan (41-12, 20-5) for the top spot in the league standings. The regular season wraps up tomorrow.
"It's been a team effort all year long and these guys found a way to get it done," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "This was a special game for our team. It took the whole team to get this thing done. We are proud of the guys."
The Cardinals found themselves down 6-2 after Toledo (17-35, 4-20) put up a six-spot in the fourth inning. However, reliever Nick Floyd came on and held the Rockets to only one hit the final five innings to give Ball State a chance at the comeback.
Ross Messina put the Cardinals back in the game with a two-run bomb in the fifth inning. The next frame, Ryan Peltier hit his second home run of the season to cut the deficit to one, 6-5.
The score remained at 6-5 until the bottom of the ninth inning. John Ricotta led off the ninth with his third hit of the afternoon, a sharp single through the left side. After Chase Sebby moved pinch runner Drey Jameson to second base with a sacrifice bunt, Griffin Hulecki laced another single to left field to tie the ball game.
Two batters later, Orselli entered the game as a pinch hitter with runners at first and second. He took the 0-1 pitch off Toledo's Austin Calopietro back up the middle for the winning hit. This was Ball State's third walk-off victory this season (12-11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, March 20; 9-8 (13) vs. Kent State, March 29).
Ball State will honor its senior class before the start of tomorrow's regular season finale. Saturday's game is also First Merchants Ballpark Fan Day. Click here for more information. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Western Michigan 7, Ohio 1
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Bronco fans were witnesses to a dazzling performance on the mound on Friday afternoon as freshman RHP Brady Miller tossed his first career complete game en route to Western Michigan baseball toppling Ohio, 7-1 to even its weekend series.
The Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year candidate recorded the Broncos first complete game since All-American Keegan Akin did so back on June 13 of 2016 against Ohio. Miller gave up just one run on eight hits with five strikeouts. All eight of Miller's hits given up were singles along with the Plainfield, Ill., native issuing zero walks in 32 batters faced.
Miller notched his third straight win and improved his overall record to 5-2 with a team-low 3.10 ERA. Miller ranks second in the MAC in victories among freshman and leads all freshman in the MAC with a conference record of 5-1. In his past three starts, Miller is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.
Offensively the Broncos scored seven runs on 11 hits, marking the 24th game this season the Brown & Gold have registered double digit hits. WMU had two home runs on the day off the bat of seniors Jesse Forestell and Nate Grys. It's the seventh game this season the Broncos have hit at least two home runs.
Forestell led the Broncos at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run, one run scored and four RBIs. The senior catcher leads the team in home runs with six and recorded his sixth multi-RBI game of the season and seventh multi-hit game.
Grys continued his stellar play against the Bobcats with a 1-for-3 effort at the plate with a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Grys now has three home runs in two games against Ohio and five on the season. The Sterling Heights, Mich., native improved his career total to 25 home runs and is tied for second all-time in school history.
Along with Forestell and Grys, the junior duo of Jimmy Roche and Drew Devine each registered multi-hit games. Roche went 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored while Devine went 2-for-4 as well with one RBI, a double and two runs scored. Devine in game two extended his hitting streak to nine games and reached base streak to 10.
The heart of the line-up was dominant once again for the Broncos as the 2-7 hitters for the Brown & Gold went a combined 10-for-23 (.434) with six RBIs and six runs scored along with four extra-base hits.
The game two victory for the Broncos sets up a winner take all series finale against Ohio on Saturday, May 18. The winner of game three will clinch the final spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament in Avon, Ohio, May 22-26. WMU improved its overall record to 18-30 and 11-13 in conference play.
Western Michigan struck first in the bottom of the first tallying two runs on two hits to gain an early 2-0 advantage. Sophomore Blake Dunn drew a walk to lead off the inning before stealing his 30th base of the season followed by advancing to third on a wild pitch and then around to score on an error by the Ohio catcher to give WMU its first run of the ballgame.
With 30 stolen bases, Dunn is now two stolen bases away from breaking the school record for most in a single-season set by Joel DeVisser (31) back in 1998.
Later in the bottom of the first after grounding into a double play, Grys blasted his third home run of the weekend and fifth of the season over the centerfield wall to propel the Broncos to a 2-0 lead.
Ohio answered back in the top of the third with its only run of the contest. With a runner on third and one out, Ohio's Aaron Levy singled back up the middle to cut the WMU lead down to one after three innings of play.
WMU extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to the bat of Jesse Forestell. After Devine led off the inning with a double to left field, Forestell smashed a two run home run to right field to extended the Broncos lead to 4-1. It was Forestell's team-leading sixth home run of the season.
The Bronco offense continued its scoring momentum in the bottom of the fifth with three runs on three hits to widen their lead. With runners on first and second and two outs, Devine roped a single down the left field line that scored Roche from second. In the next at-bat, Forestell laced a two-RBI single to center field to clear the bases and give the Brown & Gold a 7-1 advantage.
From that point on, Brady Miller shut down the Ohio offense retiring 12 of the final 13 batters including 10 straight to secure the game two victory. The Broncos turned their third double play of the game to get the final two outs and even the series with the Bobcats.
Kent State 5, Eastern Michigan 4
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Held scoreless until the sixth inning, the Kent State University baseball team (29-22, 16-8 MAC) came back in the late innings to squeak past Eastern Michigan (11-42-1, 6-20 MAC), 5-4, Friday afternoon at Oestrike Stadium. Junior John Matthews earned his fourth straight win out of the bullpen, working 4.1 innings with eight strikeouts.
The Flashes notched 10 hits for the second day in a row, more than doubling their total in the sixth inning. Redshirt sophomore Ben Carew and junior Cam Touchette led the Kent State offense going 2-for-5 at the plate. Carew extended his hitting streak to 17 games as he has now reached base in each of the last 32 games.
The Flashes fell behind 2-0 through the first four innings as the bats were quieted to just three until the sixth inning.
Kent State managed to string together four hits in the top of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. Junior Cam Touchette led off the inning with a double hit sharply down the right field line. Sophomore Michael Turner plated Kent State's first run with an RBI-single, again barely fair down the line in right field. Senior Pavin Parks followed with an RBI-double off the wall in right-center field to score Turner and freshman Justin Kirby rounded out the inning, driving in a run on a double down the left field line.
Turner came up with his second RBI of the day, recording his sixth sacrifice fly of the season, but the Eagles tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the frame.
The Flashes regained a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth after Touchette reached on a throwing error, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Turner, stole third and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by O'Brien.
The Eagles put the winning run on first base in the bottom of the ninth and had the chance to walk off for the second day in a row, but the Flashes walked away with a 5-4 victory.
Junior Zach Schultz started on the mound for the Blue and Gold, spinning 4.2 innings and striking out two. Matthews worked 4.1 innings of relief to close the game, fanning eight.
The Flashes will close out the three-game set in Ypsilanti, Mich. and the regular season, facing Eastern Michigan on Saturday, May 18, at Oestrike Stadium at 1 p.m.
NIU 7, Bowling Green 5
Boxscore
DEKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team used a five-run fifth inning on Friday to defeat the Bowling Green Falcons 7-5 at Ralph McKinzie Field, setting up a rubber game in the final weekend series of the regular season Saturday.
"We did a good job grinding through at-bats and had a big inning that solidified the game," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "The back end of our bullpen was fantastic. Nate Thomas did a great job closing the game."
Bowling Green (16-33, 8-18 MAC) broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth. Brad Croy led off the inning with a double to left center. Neil Lambert followed with a double of his own to drive in Croy and give the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Lambert stole third base with Dylan Dohanos at bat. Ryan Anderson (Palatine, Ill./McHenry C.C.) struck out Dohanos for the first out. Jeff Scott then grounded out to Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) at shortstop, bringing in Lambert to make the score 4-2.
NIU (18-34, 14-12 MAC) came back in the bottom of the fifth. The rally started when Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College) was hit by a Tyler Hays pitch with one out. Joyce then got to second on a passed ball. After Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) struck out for the second out, Lonteen laced a single to centerfield to score Joyce and make the score 4-3. Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) then got hit by a pitch to give NIU runners at first and second. Nick Drobushevich (Moline, Ill./Moline) tied the game at four with an RBI single to left field, driving in Lonteen.
Bowling Green then went to the bullpen for reliever Will MacLean. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) crushed the first pitch from MacLean over the left field fence for a three-run home run, giving the Huskies a 7-4 lead.
"Coach gave me the green light on the first pitch and I just tried to put my best swing on it," said Smith about his go-ahead home run. "We felt once we got into their bullpen that we could get some good swings. I just wanted to keep the line moving with two outs."
The Falcons got a run back in the top of the sixth when Lambert stole home with two outs to make the score 7-5. That would be Bowling Green's last run of the game. Junior reliever Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) threw three scoreless innings to close the game for his fifth save, allowing just two hits and a walk with three strikeouts to give NIU the win and a split of the first two games of the series.
Lonteen and Drobushevich each had two hits and an RBI in the game. Drobushevich and Joyce both had two runs scored. Kyle Seebach (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Twp.) earned the win in relief, pitching the fifth and sixth innings allowing one run on two hits.
NIU closes the regular season with the final game of this weekend's series against Bowling Green at 12 p.m. Saturday. Prior to the game, NIU will honor the three seniors on this season's team, William Anderson, Ty Jandrowski, and Josh Mutter for Senior Day.
