Saturday's Baseball Results
Central Michigan 8, Akron 0
Central Michigan 4, Akron 2
Ball State 13, Northern Illinois 0
Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 1
Toledo 5, Eastern Michigan 2
Toledo 21, Eastern Michigan 7
Bowling Green 17, Western Michigan 16
Western Michigan 18, Bowling Green 10
Miami 4, Kent State 3
Kent State 10, Miami 9
Ohio 8, Canisius 7
Ohio 9, Canisius 5
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Central Michigan 8, Akron 0 -- Boxscore
Central Michigan 4, Akron 2 -- Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Sometimes the wins come smoothly, and sometimes they don't.
The Central Michigan baseball team rallied for a comeback victory over Akron in the nightcap on Saturday at Theunissen Stadium, sweeping the doubleheader and running its MAC win streak to 20 games and its overall win streak to 16.
It was the Chippewas' fifth consecutive doubleheader sweep as they won the opener, 8-0, behind a dominant pitching performance by Andrew Taylor, and then digging deep for the 4-2 win in the nightcap.
CMU is 27-10, 19-1 and in first place in the MAC. The Zips are 11-27, 9-17. The Chippewas will look to post their fifth consecutive league series sweep on Sunday (10 a.m.).
Game 1
Taylor (6-2) struck out a season-high 13, one shy of his career high. He threw six innings, allowing three hits and walking two. Aaron Husson worked the seventh to complete the shutout, CMU's sixth of the season.
"I don't think a whole lot changed (from Friday)," said CMU coach Jordan Bischel, whose team came back from a five-run deficit to win Friday's series opener, 11-10. "(Today) we pitched better and played better defense. Really, we approached it the same way, and we were a little bit sharper on the defensive side."
Robby Morgan homered and Danny Wuestenfeld finished with three hits to lead the Chippewas' 12-hit attack, more than enough to back Taylor. Leading 4-0, the Chippewas blew the game open with a four-run fifth.
Drew Lechnir and Mario Camilletti drove in two runs apiece. Morgan, Aidan Shepardson, Lechnir and Camilletti finished with two hits each.
Game 2
Like Friday's dramatic 11-10 victory over Akron, the Chippewas continued to show their grit by creating an opening for victory no matter the circumstances.
Akron seized a 2-0 lead in the sixth, and the Chippewas got a run in the sixth when Morgan scored on a passed ball and then tied it with a run in the seventh on Lechnir's RBI bunt single.
The Chippewas went ahead when Adam Proctor led off the eighth with a double and then pinch runner Zach Lechnir took third on a flyout. Lechnir scored Jakob Marsee's double, a bullet down the right field line. Marsee stole third and then scored on a Justin Simpson sacrifice fly.
"I think that coming off of (Friday's) game where we rallied late, there was a lot of confidence," said Bischel, whose team finished with 10 hits and stranded 12. "As long as there was no panic, just to stay the course and keep putting together good at-bats. You saw almost every inning we put some pressure on because we were struggling to break through and finally, we did it at the end."
Jake Jones (4-1), who came on in the sixth inning, earned the win. He went 3 1/3 innings, allowing six hits while striking out three. CMU starter Logan Buczkowski allowed two runs on two hits, walked four and struck out four over 5 2/3 innings.
Jones held the fort, stranding two Zips in both the seventh inning and the eighth, and then getting the game-ending out on a fly ball with the bases loaded.
Drew Lechnir led the Chippewas with a career-high three hits while Garrett Navarra had two.
Ball State 13, Northern Illinois 0 -- Boxscore
Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 1 -- Boxscore
DEKALB, Ill. – The Ball State baseball team opened a four-game series at Northern Illinois with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Cardinals swept the doubleheader behind outstanding pitching and solid hitting.
With the two wins today, Head Coach Rich Maloney recorded his 900th career win as a head coach.
Amir Wright has reached safely in 36 of 37 games on the season, while Trenton Quartermaine extended his streak to 13 games. Quartermaine recorded a 5-for-9 day at the plate with five RBIs. Matthew Rivera added a 3-for-4 performance in the two games.
Tyler Schweitzer picked up his sixth win of the season and Trennor O'Donnell collected his fifth win, as the pair posted outstanding efforts.
With the wins, Ball State improved to 23-14 overall and 17-4 in MAC play, while Northern Illinois fell to 7-29 overall and 6-14 in league games.
Game One – Ball State 13, Northern Illinois 0
Quartermaine recorded a one-out double to right field to get momentum started in the top of the first. Nick Powell followed with a single to second base that advanced Quartermaine to third. Hunter Dobbins drew a walk to load the bases. Zach Cole put the Cardinals on the board first as he drew a walk with bases loaded to score Quartermaine. Ryan Peltier produced a sac fly to left field as Powell tagged up and scored. Justin Conant recorded a two-out double to left field and drove in two runs. BSU was on top 4-0 after the first half inning of play.
CJ Horn ripped a one-out double down the left field line to start the top of the fourth. Wright was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with two outs. Quartermaine singled through the right side and drove in Horn to extend the Ball State lead to 5-0.
Dobbins singled to left field to kick things off in the top of the fifth. He stole second and advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. Cole walked to give the Cardinals runners on the corners. Peltier picked up his second sac fly of the game with a fly ball to center that allowed Dobbins to score. BSU held a 6-0 lead after five innings.
Wright drew a walk with two outs in the top of the sixth. After he advanced to second on a wild pitch, Quartermaine drove him in with an RBI single to right field to give Ball State a 7-0 lead.
Dobbins led off the top of the seventh and was hit by a pitch. Cole reached on a fielder's choice as Dobbins was out at second. Peltier was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. Conant singled to right field to load the bases for the Cardinals. Zach Lane was hit by a pitch and picked up an RBI as Cole scored. Wright drew a walk to score Peltier from third. Quartermaine drove in two runs with a single down the right field line. Seth Wilson recorded a pinch-hit RBI double down the left field line. Rivera produced a pinch-hit RBI single to right field to make the score 13-0 as the game went to the bottom of the seventh.
Quartermaine led the offense in game one with a 4-for-5 performance with a game-high four RBIs. Conant notched a 2-for-4 game with two RBIs. Peltier added two RBIs on two sac flies.
Schweitzer threw another gem with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of work. He improved to 6-2 on the season. Tanner Knapp tossed a scoreless 2/3 of an inning with one strikeout in relief.
Kyle Seebach fell to 1-6 on the year with the loss in game one. He went four innings with three strikeouts and gave up five earned runs on five hits.
Game Two – Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 1
Conant started the top of the third inning with a single up the middle. Rivera drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Lane recorded a sac bunt to the pitcher to move the runners to second and third. Wright was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Quartermaine was also hit by a pitch and scored Conant from third. Powell reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Rivera to score. Dobbins followed with an RBI single to left field as Wright scored. The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third.
Conant reached on an error by the shortstop to lead off the top of the fourth. Rivera singled threw the left side to put runners on first and second with no outs. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Lane produced a sac fly to left field and drove in Conant. After a ground out moved Rivera to third, Quartermaine reached on an error by the first baseman and put Ball State on top 5-0 after the top of the fourth.
Northern Illinois picked up its first run of the day in the bottom of the fourth on a throwing error by the Ball State shortstop.
Peltier led off the top of the eighth with a triple off the left center field wall. Rivera notched a one-out double to right field that scored Peltier and gave BSU an insurance run and a 6-1 lead.
O'Donnell got the win and improved to 5-2 on the season. He went six innings with six strikeouts and surrendered an unearned run on just four hits. Nate Dohm was lights out in three innings of relief. Dohm earned his first save of the year as he recorded three strikeouts and gave up just three hits.
Dobbins and Rivera led the attack in game two as they each tallied two hits for the game with an RBI each.
Matt Salomonson picked up the loss in 4 1/3 innings of work. He gave up five runs, three earned, with two strikeouts.
Ball State and Northern Illinois return to Ralph McKinzie Field on Sunday for a single game. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Toledo 5, Eastern Michigan 2 -- Boxscore
Toledo 21, Eastern Michigan 7 -- Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – A 14-run inning, 26 total runs, 31 total hits, and two victories; Toledo's doubleheader sweep of Eastern Michigan on Saturday had a little bit of everything.
The Rockets won game one, 5-2, off the strength of an outstanding pitching performance from sophomore Connor Brandon and another three-hit day for sophomore Jeron Williams.
Then came game two, a 21-7 run-rule victory that saw Toledo crack the 20-run plateau for the first time since 2017 and an unrelenting 14-run second inning that all but ended the game shortly after it began. The last time the Rockets scored at least 10 runs in an inning was April 6, 2010 against Olivet College when they scored 12 in the bottom of the fifth of a 27-8 win. The last time it happened against a Division I opponent was March 13, 2009 against Vermont when they scored 10 in the bottom of the fourth of a 14-12 victory.
"What an awesome day for the Rockets," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "We played outstanding baseball all day long. After winning yesterday, to win the doubleheader today is fantastic. We got two great starts on the mound from Connor Brandon and Jordan Power, and the offense had a huge day. I can't even single one person out individually because they all produced. We're playing well right now, which is exciting to see. But we have one more to go tomorrow and we really want to sweep the series and cap this weekend off the right way."
Toledo improves to 21-17 overall with a 15-11 record in Mid-American Conference play this year. The third-place Rockets increased their lead over fourth-place Ohio (17-17, 10-10 MAC) in the conference standings, with the Bobcats playing out of conference play this weekend against Canisius. Central Michigan (25-10, 19-1 MAC) and Ball State (22-14, 16-4 MAC) retain their grips on first and second place, respectively, in the conference race. The top four teams will make the conference tournament, which will be hosted by the regular season champion.
Brandon's complete game effort and Williams' 3-for-4 performance at the plate highlighted the first game. Brandon struck out five and had a shutout going until the top of the seventh. Williams tallied three hits at the dish for the third straight game and tied a season-best with three runs scored. Sophomore Scott Mackiewicz, freshman Garret Pike, junior Mason Sykes, and redshirt freshman Trey Wright all drove in runs for Toledo in the first game as well.
Game two was an offensive onslaught, with seven of the nine starters recording multiple hits and seven Rockets tallying at least two RBIs. Williams registered his fourth-straight three-hit game and drove in a couple runs; senior John Servello drove in four runs and hit his fourth home run of the season; Mackiewicz drove in a couple runs and scored twice; junior Darryn Davis went 3-for-4 with a home runs and scored three runs; freshman Caden Konczak was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs; and freshmen Brayden White and Brian Fry had identical 3-for-4 lines and both had three RBIs and three runs scored.
Toledo also received offensive contributions from senior Nicky Winterstein, who hit a pinch-hit two-run homer, and Noah Matousek, who went 1-for-1 with a double and a hit by pitch in his collegiate debut. Senior Jordan Power tossed five solid innings and struck out five after getting the start in game two.
The Rockets will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Scott Park.
Bowling Green 17, Western Michigan 16 -- Boxscore
Western Michigan 18, Bowling Green 10 -- Boxscore
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball program split a doubleheader with the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday (April 23) that saw 15 innings played and 61 runs scored. The Falcons won the first game by a score of 17-16. Originally set for seven innings, the game went into extras thanks to a Tyler Haas home run with two out in the seventh. Western Michigan struck first with three runs in the top half of the eighth, but the Falcons stormed back to score four in the bottom half, walking it off on a Jack Krause single. The offensive firepower carried into the second game, which was readjusted to seven innings after extras in the first game. WMU took game two 18-10. The two teams will return to Steller Field on Sunday (April 24) to close out the series with BGSU having the opportunity to win the series.
Miami 4, Kent State 3 -- Boxscore
Kent State 10, Miami 9 -- Boxscore
KENT, OHIO- Kent State split a pair of back-and-forth games on Saturday with the Miami RedHawks, dropping game one 4-3 before taking game two 10-9 in ten innings on a Josh Johnson walk-off base hit.
GAME ONE: MIAMI 4 KENT STATE 3
The RedHawks scored two in the sixth and two more in the seventh to comeback and steal game on Saturday.
Kent State scored three runs, all with two out in the second inning. Mack Timbrook started the rally with a walk, Josh Johnson singled on a 3-2 pitch. Timbrook, going on the play, managed to score all the way from first as the throw home was wide of the mark. Collin Mathews got hit by a pitch and a infield single by Connor Ashby drew an errant throw to bring home the second run. A double steal between Mathews and Ashby put the crooked number on the board.
It stayed 3-0 into the sixth where a Nick Neibauer two-run homer made it a one-run game and ended starter Ben Cruikshank's day. Cruikshank went five innings allowing the two runs on four hits while striking out three. In the seventh, back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning tied the game at three. Justin Miknis then picked off Parker Lester. A fielding error allowed the go-ahead runner to reach and a wall-scraping triple by Brian Zapp brought home the go-ahead run. The Flashes couldn't find the equalizer in the seventh, giving Miami game one.
GAME TWO: KENT STATE 10 MIAMI 9 (10 INNINGS)
The Flashes scored in each of the first four innings in game number two. Kyle Jackson led off reaching on a drop third strike and scored on a Michael McNamara groundout. In the second, Mathews brought home Johnson on a sac fly that was caught by the shortstop in short left field. Kent State sent all nine batters to the plate in the third, striking for four runs. A McNamara double plated one, a Johnson single brought home two and Aidan Longwell's single brought home Johnson. The Flashes built a four-run lead on another McNamara groundout in the fourth to lead it 7-3.
Peyton Cariaco pitched into the seventh and settled in after allowing two first-inning runs. His line was skewed by a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 7-5 but he allowed four earned runs and struck out seven against no walks in 6.2 innings. Miami rallied to tie it in the eighth, scrapping together four singles to score three times and tie the game at eight. In the ninth, Miami loaded the bases with nobody out. A sac fly to the warning track gave Miami a 9-8 lead but a diving catch by Sam Thompson on a foul bunt and a routine liner to short ended the inning with only one run scoring.
In the home half of the ninth, Justin Kirby walked, Longwell singled and moved him to third. Miami elected to play the infield back, allowing a Thompson grounder to short to score Kirby and tie the game. The RedHawks went in order in the 10th and the Flashes promptly loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, thanks to two hit batters and a single. Johnson then hit a liner to center over the drawn in outfield and sent the Flashes home a 10-9 winner.
The split leaves Kent State at 14-20 overall and 9-12 in the MAC. The two teams will wrap the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Ohio 8, Canisius 7 -- Boxscore
Ohio 9, Canisius 5 -- Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio-- The Ohio baseball team (18-17, 10-10 MAC) took two games over Canisius (17-18) in a doubleheader on Saturday (April 23) at Bob Wren Stadium. The Bobcats took a 8-7 win in the first game and won 9-5 in game two.
GAME ONE
The Bobcats started off with strong offense, as senior Colin Kasperbauer (Sioux City, Iowa) brought in a runner from third base for an RBI single. Ohio wasn't able to hold the lead as an error cascaded into four unearned runs for the Golden Griffins. Luckily for the Bobcats, redshirt senior Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) took a ball deep to left field in the fourth inning and brought in three home runs on his ninth homer of the year, and second in two games.
Ohio and Cansius went back and forth in the next few innings, as Cansius took a two run-lead after the fifth. Senior Will Sturek (Minnetonka, Minn.) came up with runners on base in the sixth, and bunted in a run as the Bobcats took advantage of a throwing error by the pitcher. The Golden Griffins really struggled to score in the last half of the game as senior Braxton Kelly (Ulysses, Ky.) shut down their offense. Kelly allowed just one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts in his four innings pitched. He also earned the win for his outing.
The Golden Griffins took the lead again in the seventh to go up 7-5, but Kasperbauer immediately took matters into his own hands as he hit his second homerun of the year, giving Ohio a 8-7 lead. Fifth year pitcher Edward Kutt IV (Westlake, Calif.) finished off the game as he easily cruised through three batters in the ninth for his first save of the season.
GAME TWO
The Bobcats picked up right where they left off, immediately taking advantage of Canisius' starting pitcher and put up six runs in the first inning. Redshirt freshman AJ Rausch (Powell, Ohio) got things started off with a two-run homerun to deep left field to take a quick 2-0 lead. After getting another couple of batters on base, Harbert singled to bring in another run and give Ohio three runs before recording an out.
Junior Alex Finney (Oxford, Mich.) brought in another run on a sac fly, as Harbert stole second and third base. He was rewarded for his base running as redshirt senior Michael Richardson (Caimbridge, Md.) singled to bring him in from third. Finally, graduate student Cael Baker (Gahana, Ohio) doubled to bring in the last run of the inning and give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead after one inning.
The Golden Griffins battled back with two runs in each the second and third innings,but the Bobcats once again extended their lead. In the fourth inning, Rausch came up with another big hit and doubled to bring in fifth-year senior Isaiah Richardson (Lincoln, Neb.) to give Ohio a three-run lead. Baker came up clutch again, too, as he beat the shift in the fifth inning and brought in a run on an RBI single. After Cansius put up a run in the seventh, Baker added another run as he got brought in on a sac fly from Peterson.
The Bobcats had a strong pitching performance by freshman starter Hudson Boncal (Corona, Calif.). Boncal finished with a win after pitching five innings and only giving up two earned runs.
"I found that my fastball worked well," Boncal said. "I just tried to let them hit it, honestly, and let my defense go work."
Fifth-year senior pitcher Brett Manis came into close the end of the game. He was the only pitcher of the game for the Bobcats that wasn't a freshman in an impressive outing by Ohio's young talent.
Ohio was led offensively by Rausch, who finished three-for-five with three RBIs, and Baker, who went two-for-three with two RBIs and a walk.
