Mid-American Conference

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Central Michigan's Zach Gilles motored home from second base on David Cole's two-out single in the ninth inning on Friday as the third-seeded Chippewas knocked off second-seeded Miami, 6-5, in their NCAA Regional opener at Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field.

The win moves the Chippewas (47-12), winners of 19 consecutive games, into a Saturday (7 p.m.) winner's bracket game against top-seeded Mississippi State (47-13). The Bulldogs, the overall No. 6 seed in the tournament, opened on Friday with an 11-6 win over Southern. 
 
The Chippewas overcame an early 4-0 deficit to seize a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, then saw Miami tie it 5-5 on an Adrian Del Castillo monster home run to right leading off the seventh.
 
Gilles singled to lead off the ninth, and was bunted to second by Jason Sullivan. After a flyout, Cole looped a single to center and Gilles raced home, diving across the plate to score the go-ahead run.
 
Junior right-hander Zach Kohn, who came on in the seventh inning, set down the Hurricanes in the ninth to give the Chippewas their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1995.
 
The 47 wins ties the 1988 CMU team for the most victories in program history. The '88 team was also the last Chippewa squad to win its NCAA Tournament opener, a 10-7 victory over UNLV in Tempe, Ariz.
 
Friday's victory came over a storied Miami program that has won an NCAA-record 30 regional titles, has four College World Series crowns, and made a record 44 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1973-2016.
 
The Chippewas will now take on Mississippi State, a program with every bit the history of Miami, and they will do it on the Bulldogs' home field and in front of an expected crowd of some 15,000.
  
The CMU-Mississippi State winner advances to the championship game on Sunday (9 p.m.). The loser will play on Sunday (3 p.m.) against either Miami or Southern. The Hurricanes and Jaguars meet in an elimination game on Saturday (1 p.m.).