Akron 9, Ohio 8
Boxscore
Akron, Ohio – The Akron Zips received a game-winning RBI double by junior Jerry Reinhart (Batavia, N.Y.) to claim the series against Ohio in a 9-8 see-saw battle game four victory at Skeeles Field on Sunday.
Prior to the game Akron recognized its graduating seniors for the first time since 2015 as John Creel, Austin Domer, Tyler Gault, Mark Meyer, Josh Nowak and Connor Regan prepared for their final game at Skeeles Field.
The back-and-forth battle marks Akron's first Mid-American Conference series win since 2015, as the Zips were led by senior Austin Domer (Orrville, Ohio) with a 2-for-5 performance which included three RBI and a run scored. Junior Bryant Shellenbarger (Mount Vernon, Ohio) also delivered two hits in four at-bats with an RBI and two runs scored. Eight additional Zips sprayed hits Domer, Reinhart, Shellenbarger and junior Bradley Goulet (Cottage Grove, Minn) collected doubles.
Senior pitcher Mark Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio) earned the win after Ohio tied the game in the eighth inning as a result of an Akron fielding error. Meyer threw two innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts and no walks or earned runs.
Ohio started the scoring in the second inning as Mason Minzey drew a two-out walk and Spencer Harbert sent a double down the left field line to score Minzey from first base.
In the bottom half of the inning, Shellenbarger blasted a double of the right center field wall and junior Justin Barr (Pensacola, Fla.) followed with an RBI single to right field to tie the game, 1-1. Freshman Kaito Hara (Houston, Texas) added a sacrifice flyout to left center field, plating Shellenbarger for a 2-1 Zips advantage.
The Bobcats tied the game in the third inning after a lead-off double down the left field line led to a well-executed safety squeeze to tie the game, 2-2. Ohio left one runner on base.
Akron responded in the third inning. After being down 1-2 in the count, Reinhart drew a walk to open the inning for the Zips. Reinhart advanced to second base on a groundout and scored when senior Connor Regan (Sagamore Hills, Ohio) used an eight-pitch at-bat to lace an RBI line drive into center field for Akron's third run, 3-2.
Ohio tied the game in the fourth inning with one swing of the bat as Aaron Levy sent a deep fly ball over the right field fence. The Bobcats scored a second run to reclaim a 4-3 lead, but Akron immediately responded as Barr walked and scored on an Domer groundout in front of second base.
With the game tied 4-4, Akron exploded for four runs in the fifth inning. Goulet led-off the fifth inning with a double off the left field fence and junior Cameron Tilly (Canberra, Australia) singled to third base to put runners at first and second. Shellenbarger and Domer issued the RBI singles to lift Akron to an 8-4 advantage.
Ohio scored one run in the sixth to cut the Zips lead to 8-5 and added two in the seventh before knotting the game in the eighth inning.
Akron answered in the eighth with a run as Hara's infield singled led to the game-winning run. With two outs, Reinhart sent a fly ball over the right fielder's head for an RBI double which proved to be enough for the 9-8 win. Meyer issued two strikeouts in the top of the ninth inning to secure the Zips 3-1 series victory.
Akron will be back in action on Tuesday, May 18 against Pitt at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and fans can follow the action on the ACC Network or via live stats on GoZips.com.
Northern Illinois 8, Eastern Michigan 5
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, MI – The Northern Illinois University baseball team rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to the Eastern Michigan Eagles Sunday afternoon to win 8-5 at Oestrike Stadium.
"Today was a great win for the boys," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We kept battling and scratching runs across. We did a really nice job battling in each at bat and it paid off with a series split."
Eastern Michigan (20-22, 14-17 MAC) got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning highlighted by a Mike Monahan two-run single to take a 4-0 lead. The Huskies got on the board in the top of the second. Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) led off the frame with a walk, getting the third on a Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.) double. Senior first baseman Jordan Larson (Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) followed with a double that brought Dunham home to make the score 4-1. Nick Drobushevich (Moline, Ill./Moline) drove in NIU's second run on a sacrifice fly that scored Huebbe from third. After a Paddy McKermitt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) walk, Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland C.C.) made the score 4-3 with a run-scoring single.
NIU (14-32, 13-19 MAC) starting pitcher Connor Langreder (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) got in a groove after allowing allowing a four-spot to the Eagles in the first. The freshman left-hander retired the next nine batters he faced with the infield defense erasing a walk to Monahan in the fourth with a double play. The Huskies took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) tied the game with runners at the corners and no outs, hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) from third to make the score 4-4. Huebbe then put NIU ahead with an RBI single that scored Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College) to give the Huskies a 5-4 lead.
McKermitt extended the NIU lead in the top of the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly, driving home Larson to put the Huskies up 6-4. Eastern Michigan got the run back in the bottom half of the inning as Will Oberg hit a run-scoring single to right centerfield off of reliever Erik Hedmark (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) to get the Eagles within one run at 6-5. Hedmark got out of the inning by throwing out Eli Gora as he tried to steal home.
The Huskies scored a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Larson drove in his second run of the game on a groundout to second baseman Jared Kauffman which scored Joyce to make the score 7-5. Dunham then scored on a wild pitch to put NIU ahead by three, 8-5. That would be all the run support Hedmark needed. The junior allowed no runs on just two hits over the final three innings to lock up a split of the weekend series.
Erato, Joyce, Huebbe and Drobushevich each had two hits in the ballgame. Six different Huskies had an RBI on the day with Larson driving in a pair of runs. Langreder earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings allowing five runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Hedmark allowed just three hits with three punchouts in 3.1 innings for his first career save.
"Connor got off to a slow start, but once he settled in he dominated the game," Kunigonis said. "Erik came in and took care of business in the last three innings."
NIU hosts the Toledo Rockets for the final home series of the regular season at Ralph McKinzie Field, beginning with a 2 p.m. game on Friday, May 21.
Toledo 19, Bowling Green 2
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo baseball team wrapped up its weekend against arch-rival Bowling Green with an emphatic 19-2 run-rule victory on Sunday to clinch the series.
The Rockets were in control of Sunday's game from the outset, putting up crooked numbers on the scoreboard in the first five frames to put the Falcons in an insurmountable hole.
"What a way to cap off the series against our rivals down I-75," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "We played a complete game from top to bottom. It all started on the mound by getting a quality outing out of Wyatt Jefferson. We played errorless baseball on defense, but the most important factor today was obviously the offense. We really came to play with the bats. It wasn't just one guy either; everyone had a hand in it today."
Fourteen different players either had a hit or drove in a run for Toledo on Sunday. Chris Meyers was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a walk, Darryn Davis drove in three runs and had a home run, while Nicky Winterstein and John Servello each tallied two RBIs a piece. Scott Mackiewicz was 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot and scored a game-high four runs. Trace Hatfield, Mason Sykes, and Marcus Strother all scored twice, with Strother recording three walks in three at-bats.
Jefferson enjoyed a great day on the mound, throwing four scoreless frames and striking out five to earn the win, his second of the week. Jason Young and Bryce Davis also saw time out of the bullpen.
Toledo will play at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday evening before heading to Northern Illinois next weekend for a four-game series.
"We have nine MAC games left and we are right in the thick of the race for the championship," Reinstetle said. "We need a little help, but all we can control is how we play these next nine games and see how it all shakes out."
Kent State 19, Ball State 8
Boxscore
MUNCIE, IND- The Golden Flashes had a record-setting day at the plate and earned the split with the Ball State Cardinals with a 19-8 run-rule victory on Sunday afternoon.
Kent State's 19 runs scored are the most since 2018 and their 22 hits were the most since 2013. It was a balanced attack with Kent State scoring in six innings and six different players recorded multi-hit games. Highlighting the attack was Cam Touchette's 6-for-6 day, the first for a Kent State player since Jeff Revesz did it against Niagara in 2013. Justin Miknis enjoyed a two-homer, six rbi game, the first six rbi game for the Flashes since Michael Turner did it in 2019.
Miknis got the party started in the second inning with a two-run homer to right off a 1-0 pitch. That was just the start of things to come on Sunday. Kent State erupted for five in the third, paced by a Collin Mathews' two-run homer and run scoring hits from Michael McNamara and Sam Thompson. Miknis and McNamara struck again an inning later, as the Flashes struck for three more to lead 10-1.
Kent State never let Ball State into the game. Benny Roebuck pitched into the fifth to get the victory. Max Rippl struck out five over his three-plus innings of work. The Cardinals would get as close as 11-5, but Kent State responded with four in the sixth and four more in the eighth to trigger the run rule.
The split moves Kent State's record to 24-23 and 17-15 in the MAC. Ball State is now 32-16 overall and 22-9 in the MAC. The Golden Flashes return home next weekend to welcome in Western Michigan. First pitch on Friday is set for 5 p.m.
Western Michigan 6, Central Michigan 1
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Scoring two runs in the seventh and four in the eighth propelled the Western Michigan baseball team to a 6-1 victory and a series win over in-state rival Central Michigan on Sunday inside Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
The Broncos scored all six of their runs in the final two innings of play as Western Michigan clinched its first series victory over Central Michigan since 2018. WMU posted six runs on 11 hits with seven different players registering a hit.
Offensively WMU was guided by the trio of junior Sean O'Keefe and seniors Drew Devine and Ethan Hajdukovic who each recorded multi-hit games. It was a big day at the plate for Hajdukovic who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBIs and a home run. Hajdukovic's home run in the bottom of the eighth inning was his seventh of the season.
Fellow senior Drew Devine went 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and two runs scored. In front of Devine in the batting order was Sean O'Keefe who notched a 2-for-4 performance with one double and one run scored.
Hitting in the eight spot sophomore Jimmy Allen went 1-for-4 and earned a multi-RBI game with two. Junior Blake Dunn continued to have a stellar weekend at the plate going 1-for-4 with one run scored against the Chippewas.
On the mound the Broncos got an outstanding performance from freshman Ryan Watt. Watt threw 5.2 innings allowing no earned runs on just three hits with two strikeouts. With the performance Watt now has a 2.19 in 14 appearances this season.
Earning the victory for the Brown & Gold out of the bullpen was sophomore Dane Armbrustmacher who went 3.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Over the weekend the Broncos hit .288 against the Chippewas and scored 24 runs on 34 hits with seven doubles and two home runs. WMU had four players hit over .300 on the weekend led by Devine with a .462 batting average. The Marshall, Mich., native also had three RBIs, one double and five runs scored.
Hajdukovic led WMU in the power department over the weekend with a .385 batting average to go along with a .692 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage. Hajdukovic also led the team with eight RBIs while having one home run, one double and four runs scored.
With the series win Western Michigan improved its overall record to 20-22 and 19-13 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos make their final road trip of the regular season next weekend as WMU travels to Kent State, May 21-23.
It was a pitcher's duel early on between Western Michigan and Central Michigan as each team combined for just six hits through the first six innings. WMU looked to score in the bottom of the second after placing runners on first and second with one out. The scoring threat was halted in the next at-bat as WMU grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Western Michigan had another scoring chance in the bottom of the third as WMU had runners on first and second with two outs. However, a strikeout ended the scoring chance as WMU and CMU were tied after three innings of play.
It was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when WMU scored two runs on three hits to break the tie. To lead off the inning, the Broncos got back-to-back singles from Devine and Hajudkovic to give WMU runners on the corners with no outs. Western Michigan loaded the bases one batter later after Logan Hudson was hit by a pitch.
With the bases loaded Jimmy Allen delivered with a high chopper into left field and over the CMU third baseman to score two and give the Brown & Gold a 2-0 lead.
The Broncos went back to work in the bottom of the eighth with four runs on five hits. With runners on the corners and no outs, Devine roped an RBI single to right field to extend the Bronco lead to 3-0. In the next at-bat fellow senior Ethan Hajdukovic blasted his seventh home run of the season over the left field wall to increase the Bronco lead to 6-0.
Central Michigan avoided the shutout in the top of the ninth as the Chippewas scored one run on three hits in the top of the ninth. The Chippewas looked to add more with runners on the corners and two outs but a fly ball to centerfield ended the scoring threat and secured the 6-1 win.
