Saturday’s MAC Baseball Results
Central Michigan 12, Akron 0 (7 innings)
Central Michigan 3, Akron 2 (7 innings)
Kent State 4, Miami 1
Ohio 9, Purdue Fort Wayne 1
Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 5
Bowling Green 3, Western Michigan 2
 
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
 
Central Michigan 12, Akron 0 (7 innings)
Central Michigan 3, Akron 2 (7 innings)
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
 
AKRON, Ohio – Two more solid pitching performances, two more wins.
 
Andrew Taylor and J.T. Rogoszewski combined on a shutout in the opener and Cameron Brown went the distance in the nightcap on Saturday as the Central Michigan baseball team swept a Mid-American Conference doubleheader from Akron, 12-0 and 3-2, at the Zips' Skeeles' Field.
 
Both games went seven innings. The Chippewas improved to 23-11, 15-4 MAC and will attempt to sweep the four-game series when they play the Zips in the finale on Sunday (noon).
 
The Chippewas share first place in the MAC with Ball State.
 
Staked to a 4-0 lead through 1 ½ innings in the opener, Taylor cruised, striking out six, walking two and scattering five hits through 5 1/3 innings. Rogoszewski surrendered two hits over the final 1 2/3.
 
Brown (6-0) struck out three and allowed six hits in the nightcap. It was his third-consecutive complete game and his fourth of the season.
 
The pitching performances came on the heels of Jordan Patty's outstanding start in Friday's series opener.
 
"Obviously those three starters are doing a nice job," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "J.T. did a really nice job too. One of those base hits he gave up was a chopper off the turf, just a weird turf hop, but he was the sharpest he has been in several weeks which is great to see.
 
"You keep scores down to zero, one, two runs regularly, you're going to give yourself a chance to win. You never know when you're going to need that well-pitched game. It's great to score all those runs; but especially in seven-inning games, you're going to have some grinders occasionally."
 
One of those came in the nightcap as CMU managed just three hits but drew nine walks. The Chippewas scored twice in the fifth inning to go ahead for good and they did it without the benefit of a hit.
 
The Chippewas loaded the bases with two walks and an Akron error and then Garret Navarra drew a base on balls to force in a run and put CMU ahead, 2-1. CMU picked up its second run of the inning when Zach Heeke scored from third when Jakob Marsee grounded into a double play.
 
"There's going to be days when you don't swing it well and a lot of teams lose when they don't swing the bat well," Bischel said. "We found a way to piece it together, play some defense, take our walks, and scratch out enough runs to win, which is great."
 
Akron drew to 3-2 with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the fifth. Brown got a fly ball to end the inning, and then surrendered just one hit, a one-out infield single in the seventh, the rest of the way.
 
Heeke remained hot at the plate with two triples and a three-run home run to lead a 12-hit CMU attack in the opener. It was the second homer in four games for Heeke, a senior who on Wednesday was named the MAC Player of the Week for his 9-for-13 performance in the Chippewas' series last weekend with Kent State.
 
"It's been a big lift," Bischel said of Heeke, who started the season with just two hits in his first 21 at-bats and is hitting .414 in MAC games. "You're going to have ebbs and flows in a season where guys get hot and guys get cold, but he's kind of past the hot streak now; he's just a good hitter.
 
"If you look back and take out the four, five, six games of the year, his numbers are awfully good. And for a 25-, 30-game stretch here he's just continued to put together really good at-bats."


Kent State 4, Miami 1
Box Score
 
OXFORD, Ohio – Richie Dell tossed 5.2 scoreless innings as Kent State defeated Miami, 4-1, on Saturday.

Dell recorded four strikeouts and held the RedHawks to two hits before being replaced on the bump by Trevor Pittman in the bottom of the sixth. Pittman allowed one run on three hits over 1.2 innings, and Aidan Longwell earned his first save by throwing 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

The Golden Flashes got on the board in the top of the third. Justin Kirby started the frame with a single and then stole second. He then scored on an error.

A bunt single by Collin Mathews to lead off the fourth was followed by Ben Carew being hit by a pitch. A sac bunt advanced both before Mathews scored on a fielder's choice by Justin Miknis and Carew crossed the plate on a groundout by Kevin Dobos.

The speed of Kyle Jackson helped Kent State add a run in the fifth. Jackson reached on a bunt single before stealing a pair of bases. An error on his swipe of third allowed him to score.

Billy Kopicki accounted for Miami's lone run, doubling to start the bottom of the seventh and advancing on back-to-back groundouts.

Kent State moves to 16-18 on the season and 9-10 in the MAC. Miami is now 19-14 overall and 12-7 in conference play. The two teams will wrap up the four-game series tomorrow with a single, nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m.
 

Ohio 9, Purdue Fort Wayne 1
Box Score
 
ATHENS, Ohio -- Graduate student first baseman Harry Witwer-Dukes (Monmouth, Ore.) collected a pair of run-scoring doubles and drove in a total of four runs to help lead the Ohio baseball team (20-13) to a three-game weekend sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne (9-21) courtesy of a 9-1 victory in the Saturday (April 24) series finale at Bob Wren Stadium.

The Bobcats recorded their third weekend series sweep of the 2021 season.

"Today we wanted them to come out with consistency, and they did that," said interim head coach Craig Moore of his team's effort. "We had outstanding pitching the whole weekend. Defense played great - we made every play that I thought that we should have made. Offensively, we swung the bats really, really well and had good at-bats all weekend long."

Ohio's bats produced double-digit hits for the fifth time in the last seven games, collecting 12 en route to sealing the sweep. Witwer-Dukes moved himself into a tie for the team lead in multi-hit games (10) and multi-RBI games (6) after going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk, four RBIs and two runs scored. He has now hit safely in nine-straight games, which is a season best for the Bobcats.

"Just get on the fastball early," said Witwer-Dukes of the key to his big day. "Try to hit the ball up the middle. That's usually my approach, and then just adjust from there wherever the pitch is thrown."

Redshirt senior shortstop Joe Weisenseel added three singles to Ohio's total. He drove in a run and scored two more. Senior designated hitter Treyben Funderburg (Beavercreek, Ohio) also notched a multi-hit outing, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

The Mastodons took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when senior shortstop Jack Lang led off the game with a double and then scored on a single by senior first baseman Trenton Stoner. Purdue Fort Wayne's lead did hold for long, though, as Ohio took command in the home half of the frame. Redshirt junior second baseman Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.) got the bats going for the Bobcats with a one-out double down the right field line and then scored on a double to left center by Witwer-Dukes. Witwer-Dukes then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right by senior left fielder Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio).

The fifth inning saw Ohio break the contest open by plating three more runs. Funderburg led off the home half with a single up the middle, and Weisenseel followed by beating out a bunt single. Senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) delivered an RBI single to left to bring home Funderburg to make it 3-1. One out later, Witwer-Dukes smacked a two-RBI double to left to make it a four-run lead for Ohio.

Ohio got some two-out lightning in the sixth as Funderburg hit a two-out single up the middle and then scored by way of a single to left by Weisenseel. The seventh inning saw the Bobcats plate their seventh run. Witwer-Dukes was hit by a pitch with one out and later scored on a single through the left side by junior catcher Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.).

The Bobcats tacked on their final two runs in the eighth, with Funderburg drawing a leadoff walk and later scoring when Witwer-Dukes coaxed a bases-loaded walk and Weisenseel tagging up and scoring from third on a sacrifice fly to center by Fabik after reaching on a single to right.

Freshman right-handed starting pitcher Logan Jones (Canton, Ohio) settled in after allowing back-to-back hits that led to a run to open the contest. He struck out six over five innings and gave up three hits and three walks.

"Logan's done a good job for us, for being a freshman and kind of thrown into the fire out there," said Moore. "He's getting better week-by-week and is a guy that's still maturing and is going to continue to get better as we go through his career."

A trio of relievers combined to allow only two hits and a walk over the remaining four innings. Senior right-hander Chace Harris (New Marshfield, Ohio) struck out two in two frames. Junior righty Colin Sells (Lancaster, Ohio) worked around a hit and a walk to put up a scoreless eighth, and senior southpaw Brett Manis (Port Huron, Mich.) retired the side in the ninth to seal the deal.

Ohio will look to continue its winning ways when it returns to Mid-American Conference play next weekend for a four-game weekend series at Kent State. Game one is scheduled for Friday (April 30) at 5 p.m. ET.


Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 5
Box Score
 
MUNCIE - The Ball State baseball team beat the rain and Northern Illinois Saturday, as Ross Messina's 3-run homer lifted the MAC-leading Cards to a 6-5 win. The second game of the doubleheader was postponed to Sunday due to potential rainy conditions. Sunday's series finales will be a 1 p.m. ET.

The Cardinals (24-11, 15-4 MAC) got five runs in the bottom of the 2nd, gaining a huge advantage in a 7-inning game. With two outs, a walk by Justin Conant kept the inning alive, and literally on the next pitch Adam Tellier delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0. A wild pitch would score Conant for the second run before Messina pulled a no-doubter out to left to make it 5-0. 

Tellier added an RBI groundout later in the game to give BSU a 6-3 lead. That ended up being an important run because NIU (7-26, 6-13) rallied in the 7th inning.

BSU led 6-3 when NIU strung together a series of hits. Three singles and an error allowed the visitors to pull within 6-4. Two more singles made it 6-5 and NIU had runners on 2nd and 3rd. Three different pitchers worked the final frame for BSU, with freshman Sam Klein getting the final two outs for his first career save.

Ty Johnson pitched 4.0 innings into the 7th in relief of starter Lukas Jaksich. Johnson was in control most of the day until finding trouble in the final inning. He struck out six with no walks and retired 12 of the 15 batters he faced. Andre Orselli came in to close before giving way to Klein, who struck out two pinch hitters to end the game with NIU threatening to tie or lead.

BSU, at 15-4 in league play, remains in first place. The Cardinals are tied with Central Michigan, which won twice on Saturday. Ball State is at Bowling Green next weekend and at Central Michigan May 7-9.
 
 
Bowling Green 3, Western Michigan 2
Box Score
 
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team, behind 8.2 dominant innings from starter Gage Schenk, defeated Western Michigan University by a score of 3-2 Saturday (April 24). The Mid-American Conference series is being staged at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium. BGSU goes for the series split tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.
 
With the win, Bowling Green improves to 8-11 in conference play. The Falcons are 8-7 in MAC road ballgames in 2021. WMU, winners of nine of its last 10 coming into the game, drops to 12-7 within the conference with the loss.
 
Schenk moved to 4-1 on the season with yet another masterful start. Schenk is 3-0 in MAC play, having allowed just three earned runs over 22.2 innings. On this afternoon, Schenk yielded two hits and two runs. The second hit and second run that he surrendered came with two outs and two strikes in the ninth, as the Broncos pulled within one with a single that bounced through the left side. Will MacLean then came into the ballgame and induced a weak ground ball to first base to secure the victory. In the process, MacLean earned his second save of the season.
 
The BGSU offense applied pressure all afternoon, out-hitting Western Michigan by a 12-2 margin. Eight Falcon starters registered at least one hit, while Adam Furnas, Kyle Gurney, Adam Fallon and Andy Gaytan picked up two hits apiece. Furnas has posted two hits in all three games this weekend.
 
Fallon got the Falcons on the board in the second with an RBI double. Later on in the frame, Gaytan followed with an RBI single. After the Broncos pulled within a run in the third, Nathan Rose restored BGSU's two-run advantage with an RBI single into centerfield in the fourth. Rose's big hit drove home the game's decisive run.