Sunday’s MAC Baseball Results
Toledo 12, Akron 2
Kent State 6, Central Michigan 4
Ohio 10, Northern Illinois 6
Ball State 5, Eastern Michigan 2
SIU Edwardsville 8, Western Michigan 1
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Toledo 12, Akron 2
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo baseball team completed its weekend series sweep of Akron on Sunday, winning by run-rule, 12-2, in eight innings at Scott Park.
With the win, the Rockets improve to 11-9 in Mid-American Conference play and 13-20 overall. Toledo has now won six straight games and nine of its last 10.
Toledo scored 12 runs for the second straight game, collecting 11 hits in the process. Several Rockets had great days at the plate. Danny O'Reilly went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, Nicky Winterstein hit 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two walks, and John Servello was 3-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs, and three runs. Toledo walked 13 times on Sunday, with each player recording at least one free pass.
Connor Brandon started on the mound and gave Toledo six shutout innings, striking out four to do his part in Sunday's victory. Cal McAninch and Jordan Power also saw time on the mound for the Rockets out of the bullpen.
Toledo dominated the Zips all weekend long, outscoring Akron 37-7 over the course of four games. Trace Hatfield was 9-for-15 with two home runs and eight RBIs , and O'Reilly hit .353 with nine RBIs. Chris Meyers hit .545 with four extra-base hits and seven walks.
Next up for the Rockets is a four-game weekend series at Eastern Michigan next weekend.
Kent State 6, Central Michigan 4
Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI- Jack Kartsonas pitched five strong innings and Jack Zimmerman closed things out on Sunday as Kent State took the finale of the four-game set from the Chippewas, 6-4.
For the fourth time in the series, Central Michigan scored in the first. A pair of singles and an error loaded the bases for the Chippewas. Kartsonas was able to limit the damage, allowing a sacrifice fly and the third single of the inning as Central led 2-0 after the first. Kartsonas settled in nicely after the first, allowing just one more hit in his five innings of work.
Kent State was able to tie things up in the fourth. Ben Carew led off with a double and Michael McNamara brought Carew home with a two-bagger of his own. The freshman went to third on a wild pitch and came into score on a Kevin Dobos ground out. It didn't stay tied for long as the Flashes got back to work again in the fifth. The Flashes were able to load the bases with one out and Carew brought in the go-ahead run on a hard-hit fielder's choice. Cam Touchette followed with a run-scoring single to give Kent State a 4-2 lead.
It stayed 4-2 until the seventh when the Chippewas were able to load the bases with no outs off Max Rippl. Jack Zimmerman came in and limited the Central Michigan offense. The Chippewas scored on a wild pitch and a ground out, but Zimmerman retired all three batters he faced in the inning. Kent State took the lead for good in the eighth. This time it was the Flashes turn to load the bases with nobody out, doing so on an error, single and walk. Kevin Dobos and Kyle Jackson each worked walks to bring in the go-ahead run and some insurance.
That was enough for Jack Zimmerman. The reliever closed out the game throwing three shutout innings. The lefty limited the Chippewas to a hit and a walk while striking out four, including three in the ninth.
The win moves Kent State to 14-17 on the season and 7-9 in MAC play. Central falls to 20-11 overall and 12-4 against the MAC. The Golden Flashes hit the road again next weekend, heading to Oxford to meet the Miami (OH) Redhawks. First pitch on Friday night is set for 5 p.m.
Ohio 10, Northern Illinois 6
Boxscore
DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ohio baseball team (17-13, 11-9 MAC) rallied to beat Northern Illinois (7-23, 6-10 MAC), 10-6, in the Sunday (April 18) finale of a four-game Mid-American Conference series at Ralph McKinzie Field. The Bobcats finished the weekend with a split of the four-game set against the Huskies.
Senior first baseman Aaron Levy (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored as Ohio pounded out 14 hits as a team. Levy was one of four Bobcats to post a multi-hit game. Senior shortstop Treyben Funderburg (Beavercreek, Ohio) collected a double and a single and drove in two runs while scoring two more. Senior left fielder Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) and redshirt junior right fielder Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) each went 2-for-4, with Fabik scoring three runs and Harbert scoring another. Five of Ohio's 14 hits went for extra bases, with senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) and junior catcher Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) each collecting a double.
The Bobcats trailed 4-3 through five innings of play but took a lead they never relinquished by plating four runs in the top of the sixth. Levy tied the game with a one-out RBI single, then Funderburg gave Ohio the lead with a two-run double down the left field line. Senior designated hitter Tanner Piechnick (Canonsburg, Pa.) made it a 7-4 lead for Ohio when he scored by way of an RBI ground out by Peterson.
The Bobcats tacked on insurance runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Levy delivered a clutch two-out RBI double in the seventh, Peterson drove in another run on an RBI double in the eighth and Piechnick drove in the 10th and final run with an RBI single in the ninth.
Senior right-handed pitcher Chace Harris picked up the win on the mound, throwing 4.1 innings of relief for the Bobcats. He struck out three while allowing two earned runs on four hits.
Ohio will step out of MAC play for a three-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne next weekend at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens. Game one is set for Friday (April 23) at 6 p.m. ET.
Ball State 5, Eastern Michigan 2
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Michigan - Ball State found the clutch hits Sunday afternoon in its 5-2 win over Eastern Michigan. Down 1-0 for several innings, a 2-run single by Noah Navarro and a home run by Ryan Peltier gave the Cards control of the series finale. BSU (21-11) is now tied for first in the league with a 12-4 record.
Navarro went 4-for-4 on the day and stole a base. Adam Tellier had two hits and scored twice.
PIVOTAL PLAYS: With Eastern Michigan holding onto a 1-0 lead, EMU committed an error and walked a batter. Tellier got an infield single, then Navarro hit the go-ahead single on the first pitch to give Ball State a 2-1 lead. Ross Messina added a sac fly moments later and then Peltier delivered a solo shot to make it 4-1. Peltier, who is batting .353 in conference play, said he was looking for one spot on the first pitch. "I got a fastball I could put a good swing on and let if fly," Peltier said.
O'DONNELL RULES: Trennor O'Donnell got the start and turned in his best outing as a Cardinal. The 6-7 righty pitched into the 6th inning and got the win while allowing just one unearned run. Sam Klein relieved O'Donnell with the bases loaded in the 6th and got out of the jam in a game-changing moment.
RUNNER ON 3RD, DO THE JOB: Messina had two sac flies, hitting the ball in the air with a runner on 3rd base. He leads the team with four sac flies on the year and has a team-best 27 RBIs.
BIG PICTURE UPDATE: Sunday's win and a Central Michigan loss to Kent State puts CMU and BSU atop the standings at 12-4. Miami's series with Bowling Green wasn't played so Miami remains one game back.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals return home next weekend to host Northern Illinois. NIU is 6-10 and currently 9th in the conference standings. There is no general admission to next weekend's games. Fans can follow @ballstatebb on Twitter or watch online.
SIU Edwardsville 8, Western Michigan 1
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In the series finale the Western Michigan baseball team fell to SIU-Edwardsville 8-1 on Sunday afternoon inside Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
Western Michigan scored just one run against the Cougars on six hits with six different Broncos registering a hit. The top of the line-up for the Broncos produced at the plate on Sunday as the one through four hitters for WMU went 4-for-14 (.286) with one walk, one stolen base and one run scored.
Junior Connor Charping scored the lone run for the Broncos as the Trenton, Mich., native went 1-for-4 at the plate. Charping also collected his team-high 12th stolen base of the season. Fellow junior Justin McIntyre went 1-for-3 in the series finale and earned his ninth double of the season in the bottom of the fourth.
Western Michigan used four pitchers against SIUE, allowing just three earned runs while striking out seven. In relief LHP Dane Armbrustmacher led the team with four strikeouts while freshman RHP Hayden Berg finished the game allowing no runs on one hit with two strikeouts on 2.1 innings of work.
In the four-game series against SIUE the Broncos hit .275 as a team and scored 17 runs on 33 hits with eight extra-base hits. Leading the way was Charping with a .462 batting average to go along with four runs scored, one RBI and a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.
Redshirt junior Logan Hudson over the weekend ranked second on the team with a .455 batting average and had a team-high three RBIs to go along with a team-high four doubles. Hudson also posted a team-high .818 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. The duo of Sean O'Keefe and Ethan Hajdukovic joined Hudson with three RBIs each.
On the mound over the weekend the Broncos registered a 4.78 ERA and struck out 32 batters. Senior LHP Brandon Petersen led WMU with nine strikeouts with sophomore RHP Easton Sikorski ranking second on the team with seven. Overall WMU had five pitchers throw at least two innings and have a 0.00 ERA.
Western Michigan now has an overall record of 11-15 and 10-6 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos return to MAC play next weekend, April 23-25 at home against Bowling Green.
Once again the Broncos got on the board first with one run on one hit in the bottom of the first. After a fly out to start the inning Connor Charping roped a single to left field for WMU's first hit of the ballgame. Charping then stole his 12th base of the season prior to advancing to third on a ground ball.
A walk by Logan Hudson positioned WMU with runners on the corners with two outs. In the next at-bat Hudson attempted to steal second base, allowing Charping to dash home from third to give the Brown & Gold a 1-0 lead.
That was all for the Broncos in the run's department in the series finale as the Cougars scored one run in the top of the second to tie the game at one. SIUE extended its lead in the middle innings scoring two runs in the fifth and sixth innings and three more in the seventh.
Despite scoring just one run the Broncos produced multiple chances as WMU had runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings. Western Michigan had runners reach base in seven of the nine innings including one in the bottom of the eighth and ninth.
