Saturday’s Baseball Results
Buffalo 4, Toledo 4
Ohio 4, Northern Illinois 2
Eastern Michigan 4, Bowling Green 0
Ball State 9, Miami 0
Western Michigan 6, Bradley 3
Central Michigan 13, Kent State 10 (Suspended in 9
th. Will resume at Noon on 3/27).
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Buffalo 4, Toledo 4
Boxscore
TOLEDO, OH – The University at Buffalo baseball team stayed unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Toledo Rockets by the score of 6-4. Vinny Mallaro smacked a two-run home run for the second straight game and Mike Kaelin closed the door in the ninth to earn the save as the Bulls improved to 8-10 overall and 2-0 in MAC play.
"This was a great team win," said head coach Ron Torgalski. "We made the big plays when we needed to. It's always nice to win a road series but we can't be satisfied with two wins, we need to come out focused and ready to play tomorrow afternoon."
The Rockets got on the board in the opening inning as Dalton Bollinger singled down the left field line to score the runner from second base. The Bulls didn't waste much time responding as they were able to take the 2-1 lead in the second inning. Kyle Brennan, Brian Dudek and Alex Thrower all earned walks and Bobby Sheppard connected on a single down the right field line to score Brennan from third and tie the game. Two batters later, Mike Abrunzo worked a walk to collect his 10th RBI of the season, scoring Thrower from third.
After a couple scoreless innings, the loudest hit of the game came in the fifth inning off the bat of Vinny Mallaro. After Abrunzo singled to center field to start the inning, Mallaro dug in and crushed a two-run homer over the left field fence, giving the Bulls the 4-1 lead. The homer was Mallaro's team-leading fourth of the season and second in as many days.
The Bulls added another run in the sixth inning as Thrower earned a walk and advanced to second after a Bobby Sheppard sacrifice bunt. Thrower then came around to score on a throwing error by the catcher, making the score 5-1 in favor of the Bulls.
UB starter Charlie Sobieraski got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning after getting the first two outs of the inning, the sophomore walked three straight batters before getting pulled for closer Mike Kaelin. Kaelin came in and allowed back-to-back singles to allow the Rockets to score three runs in the inning and make the score 5-4 in favor of UB.
The Bulls responded with a run of their own in the eighth inning with two outs. Abrunzo earned a walk to start the rally and Mallaro followed with a single to left field. Chris Kwitzer then stepped in and crushed a double to deep left field to score Eddie Edwards III, who pinch ran for Abrunzo. The RBI for Kwitzer was his 12th of the season.
Kaelin took to the mound in the eighth and mowed down the Rockets before closing out his fifth save of the season with three straight strikeouts in the ninth to close the door on a comeback for Toledo.
Mallaro powered the Bulls to victory once again as he finished 2-for-4 with his fourth home run and a pair of RBI's. The junior now has a team-high 17 RBI's on the season and has reached base in a career-best 16 straight games. Abrunzo continued his great start to his senior campaign as he went 2-for-3 with a RBI, a run and a pair of walks as he also extended his reaching base streak to a career-best 16 straight games in the win.
The Bulls had five players earn two walks in the game, including Thrower who finished with a team-high two runs scored. As a team, UB earned 12 walks while leaving 12 runners on base.
Sobieraski earned his fourth win of the season as he went 6.2 innings while allowing four hits, four runs and striking out two batters. Kaelin came in and earned another multi-inning save for the Bulls as he finished the game going 2.1 innings and struck out five Toledo batters.
The Bulls and Rockets will return to Scott Park on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm for the final game of the three-game series. Shawn Dubin (0-1, 6.17 ERA) will toe the bump for the Bulls.
Ohio 4, Northern Illinois 2
Boxscore
Powered by a two-home run day from senior third baseman John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) and seven strong innings on the mound from junior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio), the Ohio baseball team (10-12, 1-1 MAC) took the second game of its 2016 Mid-American Conference opening series against West Division foe Northern Illinois (5-17, 1-1 MAC), 4-2, on Saturday (March 26) at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, Ohio.
The Huskies won the first game of the series on Friday (March 25) by a 2-0 margin despite a complete game from senior right-handed starting Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio).
Rudnicki struck out two while allowing two earned runs on two hits and three walks. The win improved his record to 3-0 on the season.
Redshirt sophomore right-handed reliever Jake Roehn (Sandwich, Ill.) earned his second save of the year, throwing the final two frames for the Bobcats. He struck out one while allowing two hits.
Adryan went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI.
Eastern Michigan 4, Bowling Green 0
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team used a strong all-around performance from its pitching staff to lock down its second straight win, 4-0, over the Bowling Green State University Falcons Saturday afternoon, at Oestrike Stadium. Three pitchers combined for the shutout for the Eagles (8-13, 2-0 MAC)
Getting the start, and his second win of the season, was senior righty Augie Gallardo (Hemet, Calif.-Hemet (Mt. San Jacinto College)) after he went a season-high 5.1 innings, striking out a career-high seven batters. Equally as strong in relief was senior Michael Marsinek (Streetsboro, Ohio-Streetsboro) after he went 2.2 innings without yielding a hit, and striking out a pair. Finally junior Sam Delaplane (San Jose, Calif.-Leigh) made his second straight appearance, keeping the shutout in tact with a scoreless ninth, striking out one.
Not to be outdone on the offensive side, EMU put together 10 hits as a team in the game. Leading the way was redshirt junior Marquise Gill (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) who had a 3-for-4 game with a double and two runs scored. He also stole a pair of bases, putting his season total up to 17 on the season. Also putting together a nice game was senior Jackson Martin (Listowel, Ontario-Listowel) who had a pair of doubles and two runs scored in a 2-for-4 game.
The Eagles jumped on the Falcons (8-15, 0-2 MAC) early, scoring two in the bottom of the first. Gill led off with a single, and promptly stole second, advancing to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly drove him in. Later in the inning, Martin drove a double right over the third baseman's head, and was knocked in on the next at-bat with a single from redshirt junior Michael Mioduszewski (Dexter, Mich.-Dexter).
On the bump, Gallardo was almost untouchable through the first five innings, only allowing three hits and striking out seven, besting his previous career-best of six, including the side in the third.
EMU tacked on another run in the fifth, solely from the play of Gill. He led off the inning with his third hit, a double into the left field corner. He then stole third and came in to score on a wild pitch.
Gallardo ran into some trouble in the top of the sixth, knocking him from the game. A double, walk, and sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Going to the bullpen, Marsinek battled back getting a strikeout and groundout to escape with no damage.
The senior Marsinek continued to work through the Falcons' lineup, not allowing a hit in the 2.2 innings after coming in relief. In the meantime, EMU tagged on an insurance run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly after Martin's second double of the game. He advanced to third on an infield single from Mioduszewski.
In the ninth, Delaplane was tasked with closing things down, and he succeeded, keeping the shutout in tact with a strikeout, sealing the 4-0 win. The shutout was the second time EMU has blanked an opponent this season.
Eastern now goes for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon, March 27, with the final game of the weekend series. First pitch from Oestrike is set for 1 p.m.
Ball State 9, Miami 0
Boxscore
OXFORD, Ohio – Junior starting pitcher Zach Plesac went the distance and held host Miami to two hits in the Ball State baseball team’s 9-0 win Saturday evening at Hayden Park. The two teams will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow afternoon.
Plesac, a native of Crown Point, Indiana, piled up a career-high 11 strikeouts. The righty allowed just two singles, one in the first inning and one in the fourth. Only one Miami batter reached base the final four innings. Plesac led the MAC with five complete games one year ago.
The Ball State (13-11, 1-1 MAC) offense would get all the runs it would need in the third inning. Sophomore Colin Brockhouse led off the frame with his second collegiate home run. Junior Caleb Stayton added a two-run single later in the inning to push his team-leading RBI total to 29. Fellow junior Jarett Rindfleisch followed Stayton with an RBI single of his own to make the score, 4-0.
Junior Alex Maloney chipped in with an RBI single in the seventh, which was part of another four-run inning, as the Cardinals extended their lead to 8-0.
Stayton, Rindfleisch and Maloney all notched two hits in the win. Stayton scored three times while junior Alex Call doubled and scored twice.
Tyler Harris and Ross Haffney recorded the only hits for Miami (9-11, 1-1). This was the first time since the season opener that the RedHawks did not score a run.
The final game of the three-game series is set for Sunday, March 27 at 1 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Western Michigan 6, Bradley 3
Boxscore
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Led by a huge seventh inning, the Western Michigan baseball team defeated Bradley 6-3 on Saturday night at Butler Universities home field.
The Broncos improved to 7-13 and have now won six of their last seven games while the Braves fall to 10-9 this season. The hits went even at 7 apiece and each team left five runners on base.
WMU was shutout until the top of the seventh inning as Bradley scored one run in each the second and sixth inning to lead 2-0. Grant Miller led it off with a single to right field and Hunter Prince reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. After Steve Pastora drew a walk to load the bases, Jesse Forestell singled through the right side to score Miller and make it 2-1 Bradley. With the bases loaded and no out, Evan Nelson came through with a grand slam to right center field with a 1-2 count against him to make it 5-2 WMU.
The Braves came back to score another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-3, but the Broncos got the ran back immediately as Forestell drilled a double down the right field line to score Miller, who reached on a walk earlier in the inning.
Sophomore Jacob Piechota (3-1) was credited with the win, going 3.1 innings allowing four hits and two runs with two strikeouts. Senior Pat Haynes got the start and went 3.2 innings allowing one run on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Sophomore Jake Bartels pitched in final 2.0 innings scoreless, allowing one hit and no walks with two strikeouts while earning his first save of the season.
Nelson finished 1-for-1 with a home run and four RBI and was also hit by a pitch while Forestell went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Miller went 1-for-3 with two runs and a walk and Drew Farmer, Prince and Tanner Allison all added a hit.
The Broncos return to action against Butler on Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. at the Bulldogs home field. Follow the Broncos on Twitter at @WMUBaseball for all updates about the team.
