Baseball

Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan Earn Fly The Flag Victories

Tuesday’s Baseball Results
Western Michigan 2, Northwestern 1
Eastern Michigan 9, Michigan 8
Kent State 14, Case Western Reserve 7
Northern Illinois 15, Eastern Illinois 14
Ball State 5, Southern Indiana 4
Bowling Green 12, Youngstown State 7
Central Michigan 26, Grace Christian 1
Toledo 12, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Northern Illinois 15, Eastern Illinois 14
Oakland 8, Akron 2
Northern Kentucky 8, Ohio 7
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
 

Western Michigan 2, Northwestern 1
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Western Michigan baseball team picked up its fifth consecutive victory on Tuesday as it held on for a 2-1 win at Northwestern.  

FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 2, Northwestern 1

LOCATION: Rocky and Berenice Miller Park (Evanston, Ill.)

RECORDS: Western Michigan (6-16) | Northwestern (10-12)

W: Adam Lehmann (1-2) | L: Sam Hliboki (1-2) | Save: DJ Thompson (2)

For the second straight week, pitching dominated for the Broncos in their midweek contest against a Big Ten opponent. Last week, Reese Gaber blanked Michigan on one hit over 6.0 innings, and the lefty followed that up with 4.0 innings of no-hit, shutout ball against the Wildcats. Gaber allowed just two baserunners, erasing one of those on a double play.

The Broncos took advantage of a Northwestern error to open the scoring in the third. Tanner Mally reached on an error with one out in the frame, stole second and then scored on a two-out double by Brendan Harrity.

WMU doubled its lead in the fourth when Lucas Rick brought Avery Thielman around with a sacrifice fly.

Adam Lehmann took over on the hill in the fifth for the Brown and Gold and worked 3.0 scoreless frames of his own to collect his first collegiate win. The righty retired the final five Wildcats he faced.

Northwestern had three straight reach with one out in the ninth to push across its lone run of the contest and put the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position. DJ Thompson buckled down and got a strikeout and a ground ball to slam the door for the Broncos and earn his second save of the season.

Eastern Michigan 9, Michigan 8
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team won a thriller against cross-county foe, the University of Michigan, 9-8, at Ray Fisher Stadium, to capture its first true "Power Four" road win since 2018. 

Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) came through clutch in the ninth inning. Down 8-7, Zuccaro roped a double to right center to score Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) and tie the game. Later in the inning, Zuccaro ran home off a Wolverines' passed ball to score the deciding run. 

After striking out the lead-off batter and walking the second man up, Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) forced a ground ball to second base where the Eagles would turn a double play to end the game.  

Throughout the game, Eastern Michigan had nine hits, four of which went for extra bases, and nine walks to spark it's offense. 

Zirwas led Eastern offensively, alongside Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland/Oakland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.) who each contributed multi-hit games in the victory.

Davis was the winning pitcher for Eastern Michigan, who pitched 1.3 innings of shutout ball, including the deciding ninth inning. 

How it Happened
The game started with Eastern Michigan getting on the board in the first inning. Zirwas hit an opposite-field triple to put the Eagles up 2-0. Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) had a sacrifice to grow the EMU lead to 3-0 after the first inning. The Wolverines came right back and scored three runs in the first inning.

Eastern continued its offense in the second on a solo bomb from Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman), his fifth of the year, to take a 4-3 lead. Michigan would not score in the bottom half as EMU had a one-run lead after two.

In the fourth, EMU tallied two more runs after getting a couple of hits, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice by Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) as the Eagles took a 6-3 lead. The game remained at that score for the next inning.

Michigan would come back and score four runs off three hits in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-6 advantage over the Eagles. In the top of the seventh, Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) tied the game for the Green and White at seven off a pinch hit RBI single.

After going scoreless in the seventh, the Wolverines scored on a sacrifice flyout after their first three runners reached base. In the ninth, Eastern Michigan came back to take the lead 9-8. The inning was highlighted by Zuccaro, who knocked an RBI double to tie the game and then scored the go-ahead run from third on a passed ball. In the bottom half, the Wolverines got one runner on before the Eagles turned a double play to secure the win.

Kent State 14, Case Western Reserve 7
Box Score
KENT- The Kent State Golden Flashes baseball got a midweek win over the Case Western Reserve Spartans 14-7 on Tuesday evening.

The Spartans got on the board first in the first, but starter Nick Guidas would limit the damage to just one run.

Kent State would take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the first on a base loaded RBI walk by Sawyer Solitaria and a two-run fielder's choice off the bat of Brody Williams.

Case Western would get two in the top of the third to tie the game up, but Dom Kibler would give Kent State the lead again on a sacrifice fly to right.

The Spartans would tie up the game again in the top of the fourth and the Flashes would respond again with an RBI triple by Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe and an RBI single by Hayden Jatczak.

Case Wester would regain the lead on a bases load hit by pitch and a two-run single up the middle.

But once again Kent State would respond in the seventh, this time with a two-run Dom bomb off the bat of Kibler. Also, in the seventh Brady Marshall would lay down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to bring in Matt Thompson from third.

The Flashes offense would get five runs of insurance to jump out to the 14-7 lead. Williams and Kibler would each bring in a run on RBI hit by pitches. Thompson would bring in one on an RBI single and Kiracofe would bring in two more on an RBI single of his own.

The back end of the Flashes' bullpen was phenomenal pitching three clean frames to end the game. Jordan Kolenda pitched 1.2 innings and allowed no runs and struck out three en route to his first win of the season. Benny Roebuck would follow him up with 0.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Peyton Cariaco entered the game in the eighth in a two-run game and finished off the four out save while striking out two Spartans. 

Northern Illinois 15, Eastern Illinois 14
Box Score
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team led throughout much of Tuesday's game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Coaches Stadium but needed two runs in the top of the ninth to come back for a 15-14 win to snap its eight-game losing streak.

"We needed this win," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We've played a ton of close, tough games so far. We found a way to make that one extra pitch and got the big hits offensively. We have so things to figure out on the mound and we'll do that on the fly because we have to bounce right back tomorrow and then it's on to Butler."

NIU (8-13) led 7-6 going into the sixth inning. Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) led off with a walk, then took second base on a wild pitch and got to third on a groundout. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) ripped a single up the middle to score Sandee and put the Huskies up 8-6. Logan Gregorio followed with a base hit. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) then knocked in Parcell with a single to make the score 9-6. Andrew Smart then hit a three-run home run over the left centerfield wall to give NIU a 12-6 lead.

Eastern Illinois (9-13) responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped off by a Chris Worcester two-run single that made the score 12-10. Both teams scored a run in the seventh to make it 13-11. The Panthers took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth as a Mike O'Conor three-run home run put Eastern Illinois ahead 14-13.

The Huskies answered in the top of the ninth. With one out Parcell hit a single and got to third on a Gregorio double. Jalen House came on a pinch-runner for Gregorio as Baldwin hit a single to centerfield, scoring both Parcell and House to put NIU up 15-14.

"Logan was on the barrel all day and Gavin delivered with that big hit in the ninth," Copeland said. "Gavin was outstanding. The offense picked us up when we needed it the most and hopefully we can carry that momentum into tomorrow."

Eastern Illinois had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with two outs but Conner Lutes (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) struck out O'Conor looking to end the game and lock up his first career save.

NIU put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Gregorio and Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) both hit home runs as the Huskies took a 5-0 lead. Eastern Illinois responded with an Eli Hill grand slam over the left field fence to make the score 5-4. The Panthers had runners at second and third with two away when Gavin Micklinghoff (McHenry, Ill./McHenry County College) got Jake Ottensmeier to fly out to end the inning.  The Panthers tied the game in the bottom of the second on an O'Conor sacrifice fly.

The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the third. With runners at first and third and one out Loyd hit a groundball back to the Eastern Illinois pitcher Eli Cartwright who went to first for the out. Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) broke for home on the throw and scored to give the Huskies a 6-5 lead. Eastern Illinois responded in the bottom of the third. The Panthers executed a double steal with two outs in the inning with Brett Stanley scoring to make it a 6-6 game as Ottensmeier got to second.

Gregorio led NIU with four hits on the day, including his seventh home run of the year to tie him with Baldwin for the team lead. Baldwin was 3-for-6 with three RBI as Smart also drove in three runs. Alex Day (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) earned the win in relief with a scoreless inning. Lutes' save was the first of his career and made him the fourth different NIU pitcher to record a save so far this season.

Ball State 5, Southern Indiana 4
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team scored three times in the eighth inning to complete a comeback from a 4-1 deficit and beat Southern Indiana 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Shebek Stadium.

Trailing 4-2 entering the eighth, the Cardinals (17-9) got within a run as Nick Husovsky crossed home plate following a Houston King single. After Grant Miller pinch ran for King and Blake Bevis was intentionally walked, Clay Jacobs slapped a single to right to plate Miller and Korbin Griffin for what proved to be the game-winning hit.

Bevis drilled solo home runs to left field in the second and seventh innings for Ball State's other offense on the day. The junior upped his season home run total to eight and RBI total to 23 with the multi-homer day.

Southern Indiana (10-14) plated four runs in the third frame but would not score again. Drue Young struck out three in 4.0 shutout frames for the hosts before Owen Quinn (1-1) got the win with five punchouts in 2.2 innings.

Jacobs continued a hot stretch at the plate after two home runs over the weekend with the game-winning single. Gavin Balius joined Bevis with two-hit days as he went 2-for-2 with a walk.

"Our boys battled and found a way to win," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Drue Young and Owen Quinn were outstanding. Blake Bevis had a big day, and Clay Jacobs got the big 2-RBI hit. Excellent team effort!"

Sage Stout (2-1) surrendered the three eighth inning runs to be hit with the loss for the Screaming Eagles.

Bowling Green 12, Youngstown State 7
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team got back in the win column on Tuesday (March 25) with a 12-7 victory over Youngstown State to close out the six-game homestand. The win gives BGSU a 4-2 standing during the homestand while moving to 17-7 on the season overall. The Falcons will be on the road for their next four games, including a three-game series at Central Michigan this weekend.

The game began back-and-forth with a Penguin run in the top of the first. TJ Takats answered with a home run on the second pitch to a Falcon in the game with BGSU adding another later in the first. However, a two-run second pushed Youngstown State in front before adding insurance runs in the fourth and fifth for a 5-2 lead. BGSU scored two in the bottom of the fifth to pull within one, but another YSU run in the top of the seventh made it a 6-4 score. The bottom of the seventh changed the momentum with an eight-run inning for the Falcons, sending 15 batters to the plate for a 12-6 advantage. Youngstown State added a run in the ninth, but it was only enough to cut the final deficit to 12-7. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Youngstown State hit a home run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead

  • TJ Takats quickly answered for Bowling Green with a home run to right field to begin the BGSU half of the first, tying the game at 1-1. 

  • Caden Parker kept the momentum going with a single. Parker then advanced to second on an error by the catcher. DJ Newman followed with a double to right center, pushing Parker to third. Brady Birchmeier put a ball in play, scoring Parker to take a 2-1 lead through one inning. 

  • Youngstown State tallied two unearned runs in the second inning for a 3-2 lead before plating one in both the fourth and fifth for a 5-2 advantage.

  • Parker started off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single up the middle. Newman drew a walk and Birchmeier was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sam Seidel delivered a single through the right side, scoring both Newman and Parker to close the gap to 5-4 through five innings. 

  • After a scoreless sixth inning, Youngstown State hit a home run in the seventh to extend their lead to 6-4. 

  • In the bottom half of the seventh, Parker led off with a single. Newman hit into a fielder's choice, but an error by the shortstop kept both Parker and Newman on the bases, standing at the corners. A wild pitch moved Newman up to second before a Birchmeier infield single to third brought home Parker for the first run of the inning. 

  • After an out, Cooper McKenzie was hit by a pitch to again load the bases for the Falcons. Zack Horky was able to knock a two-RBI double down the left field line, scoring both Birchmeier and Newman for a 7-6 BGSU advantage. 

  • During the next at-bat, a wild pitch by Youngstown State gave McKenzie a chance at home plate to extend the lead. Brayden Curlis kept it going with a single up the middle to score Horky, prompting a pitching change for YSU with the score at 9-6. 

  • Gunner Antillon welcomed the new arm with a triple to the right field corner, scoring Curlis. Batting around, Parker followed by reaching on a throwing error, taking second on the errant throw while Antillon scored, now 11-6.

  • Newman capped off the scoring for the inning with a single through the right side of the infield to bring home Parker for a 12-6 advantage. 

  • Youngstown State added a run in the ninth inning for the eventual 12-7 final. 

Central Michigan 26, Grace Christian 1
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It had the feel, and the look, of a football game.

With a game-time temperature of 35 degrees and the Chippewas in maroon jerseys and gold pants mimicking the look of the CMU football team in a home game, the Chippewa baseball team posted season highs in runs, hits and home runs on Tuesday on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

It ended in a football-looking score (at least for the home team) as the Chippewas rolled to a 26-1 nonconference victory over Grace Christian. The game was called on the run rule after 6 ½ innings.

It was CMU's fifth straight win and its eighth in its last nine games as it improved to 10-15.

Bryson Webb homered twice and Rees Campanale, Spencer Verburg and Nathan Ball also homered as the Chippewas collected 20 hits. The five home runs was the Chippewas' most in a game since they hit six at Bowling Green on April 14, 2024.

"I think it's just building on what we've been doing the last nine or 10 games, just trying to be better every time out," said CMU coach Jake Sabol, whose team has hit 12 home runs in its last four games and has 22 on the season, double the total it had through 25 games a year ago

Last week, the Chippewas needed two runs in the ninth inning to defeat Cleary, 6-5, in a midweek nonleague game.

Not so this time around, as Campanale hit a grand slam – his third homer in four games – to highlight a seven-run first inning.

"We talked about last week with Cleary coming in here and it was the same type of deal," Sabol said. "Smaller school and they want to come in and beat you, doesn't matter what their record is, and I think our guys were determined not to let what happened last week play out today.

"I thought they took really good swings and from inning No. 1 they were ready to run the bases. We played clean baseball, that always helps and for the most part we filled up (the strike zone).

"Overall, this is what we've been doing the last couple of weeks: swinging it and having really good at-bats and there's no better time to do that heading into the weekend."

The Chippewas, who are 5-1 in Mid-American Conference play and share first place with Ball State, welcome defending league regular-season champion Bowling Green (17-7, 7-2) for a three-game series this weekend. The opener is Friday at 3 p.m.

CMU posted double-digit hits for the seventh time in its last nine games on Tuesday. During their 2-14 start to the season, the Chippewas reached double digits in hits just four times.

"We have it right in our team identity, offense provides the juice in everything that we do," Sabol said. "When we're able to fly the barrel and put up runs and whatnot it helps the defense, it helps the pitching, and it certainly helps the dugout energy. Those things all correlate.

"They know it's going to be fun weekend. Defending MAC champs coming in here, but we're just trying to play the same style of baseball we've been playing the last 10 games.

"If we make it any bigger than that we're going to let the moment be too big for us. Just try to execute a pitch at a time, one inning at a time, and do the things we've been doing and see how it plays out."

Leadoff man Mikey Murphy and Webb led the Chippewas with three hits apiece. Campanale and Verburg each drove in four runs.

Webb's fourth-inning homer was his first of the season. He and Verburg hit back-to-back blasts in the fifth – Verburg's three-run shot was his third round-tripper of the season -- and Ball homered for the second consecutive game.

Starter Hayden Bailey (1-1) allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven over four innings for the win, his first as a Chippewa.

Toledo 12, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Box Score
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Toledo baseball team sustained a strong offensive attack throughout a 12-5 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne at Mastodon Field on Tuesday.

The Rockets (9-14) took a 7-1 lead with a six-run third inning and added on in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings for a season-high 12 runs scored.. The Mastodons (3-20) did not draw closer than five after the third. Toledo won its third-straight game to tie its longest winning streak of the season. The Rockets' bats were consistent top to bottom, with all nine batters collecting at least one hit.

Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle
"It was nice to see the bats come alive today. We have been slowly getting better on offense each week and I hope we can build off today heading into a big MAC weekend against Kent State."

How It Happened

  • Tied 1-1, Toledo plated six runs in the third beginning with a Troy Sudbrook two-run single. Cole Cahill followed with a three-run double after a throwing error, and Luke Leto's double brought home Cahill.

  • The six-run inning was Toledo's biggest inning of the year.

  • Cam Gravelle's RBI groundout added another run in the fifth inning for an 8-1 advantage.

  • The Mastodons drew two runs closer on two RBI singles in the sixth.

  • Luke Walton drove a home run over the right-field fence for a 10-3 lead in the eighth.

  • Toledo scored two more in the ninth on a Scholvin sacrifice fly and a Sudbrook RBI single.

Northern Illinois 15, Eastern Illinois 14
Box Score
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team led throughout much of Tuesday's game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Coaches Stadium but needed two runs in the top of the ninth to come back for a 15-14 win to snap its eight-game losing streak.

"We needed this win," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We've played a ton of close, tough games so far. We found a way to make that one extra pitch and got the big hits offensively. We have so things to figure out on the mound and we'll do that on the fly because we have to bounce right back tomorrow and then it's on to Butler."

NIU (8-13) led 7-6 going into the sixth inning. Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) led off with a walk, then took second base on a wild pitch and got to third on a groundout. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) ripped a single up the middle to score Sandee and put the Huskies up 8-6. Logan Gregorio followed with a base hit. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) then knocked in Parcell with a single to make the score 9-6. Andrew Smart then hit a three-run home run over the left centerfield wall to give NIU a 12-6 lead.

Eastern Illinois (9-13) responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped off by a Chris Worcester two-run single that made the score 12-10. Both teams scored a run in the seventh to make it 13-11. The Panthers took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth as a Mike O'Conor three-run home run put Eastern Illinois ahead 14-13.

The Huskies answered in the top of the ninth. With one out Parcell hit a single and got to third on a Gregorio double. Jalen House came on a pinch-runner for Gregorio as Baldwin hit a single to centerfield, scoring both Parcell and House to put NIU up 15-14.

"Logan was on the barrel all day and Gavin delivered with that big hit in the ninth," Copeland said. "Gavin was outstanding. The offense picked us up when we needed it the most and hopefully we can carry that momentum into tomorrow."

Eastern Illinois had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with two outs but Conner Lutes (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) struck out O'Conor looking to end the game and lock up his first career save.

NIU put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Gregorio and Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) both hit home runs as the Huskies took a 5-0 lead. Eastern Illinois responded with an Eli Hill grand slam over the left field fence to make the score 5-4. The Panthers had runners at second and third with two away when Gavin Micklinghoff (McHenry, Ill./McHenry County College) got Jake Ottensmeier to fly out to end the inning.  The Panthers tied the game in the bottom of the second on an O'Conor sacrifice fly.

The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the third. With runners at first and third and one out Loyd hit a groundball back to the Eastern Illinois pitcher Eli Cartwright who went to first for the out. Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) broke for home on the throw and scored to give the Huskies a 6-5 lead. Eastern Illinois responded in the bottom of the third. The Panthers executed a double steal with two outs in the inning with Brett Stanley scoring to make it a 6-6 game as Ottensmeier got to second.

Gregorio led NIU with four hits on the day, including his seventh home run of the year to tie him with Baldwin for the team lead. Baldwin was 3-for-6 with three RBI as Smart also drove in three runs. Alex Day (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) earned the win in relief with a scoreless inning. Lutes' save was the first of his career and made him the fourth different NIU pitcher to record a save so far this season.

"Conner got two really big outs to close this game," said Copeland about the senior reliever. "He's a guy that does everything right and is a great teammate. He deserved a moment like that and I'm really happy for him."

NIU returns to DeKalb on Wednesday, March 26 to host the UIC Flames. First pitch at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt & Janice Owens Park is at 2 p.m.