Sunday's Baseball Results
Ball State 14, Akron 9
Bowling Green 18, Central Michigan 17
Western Michigan 17, Miami 11
Kent State 18, Toledo 12
Ohio 9, Eastern Michigan 4
Ball State 14, Akron 9
Boxscore
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team trailed 3-0 early but exploded for six runs in the fourth inning on its way to a 14-9 win over Akron on Sunday afternoon at Ball Diamond.
The Cardinals (23-13, 10-8 Mid-American Conference) got a two-run homer by Nick Gregory followed by a grand slam from Hunter Dobbins for the big inning, and the Ball State offense stayed hot to clinch the sweep of the Zips (6-28, 1-14 MAC).
Ball State pushed across single tallies in the second on a Nick Husovsky RBI single and the third on a Michael Hallquist solo home run to right field to cut Akron's advantage to 3-2 at the conclusion of three innings. The Zips plated three runs in the fifth after the Cardinals gained an 8-3 lead with the six-run outburst, but Ball State scored twice in the bottom half of the fifth on a Hallquist RBI double and sac fly from Dobbins before Gregory hit a sac fly of his own in the sixth to put Ball State ahead 11-6.
The visitors plated three runs in the seventh to cut their deficit down to 11-9, but Gregory (sac fly), Decker Scheffler (sac fly) and Hallquist (sac fly) combined to drive in three runs in the eighth for the final scoring of the day.
Dobbins went 3-for-3 at the dish with a walk, five RBI and two runs scored on his way to a four-homer, 10-RBI weekend. Gregory notched four RBI on the day, and Hallquist batted 2-for-3 with two walks, three RBI and two runs scored.
The four sacrifice flies from the Cardinals' offense established a program single-game high.
Sam Kelin tossed 4.2 relief innings of three-run ball while striking out four for his first win of the year. Nate Blain struck out one and threw 2.0 scoreless innings for save No. 3 for the junior.
"Excellent team effort in our sweep this weekend," head coach Rich Maloney said. "Dobbins had a monster weekend!"
Akron starter Dawson Tourney fell to 1-6 after giving up five runs in 3.0 innings pitched.
Ball State's next scheduled contest is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night at Purdue in West Lafayette.
Bowling Green 18, Central Michigan 17
Boxscore
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University baseball team walked it off on Sunday (April 14) in extra innings to complete the weekend sweep over Central Michigan for the first time since 2005. BGSU and CMU combined for 12 home runs over the course of the game, each team with six. The win moves BGSU to 15-0 in the MAC and 7-0 at home this season.
In the bottom of the ninth, DJ Newman hit a two-RBI single to center to tie the game and send it to extra innings. CMU scored in the 10th, but a solo home run by Caden Parker knotted it up once again to force an 11th inning. After Rigo Ramos held the Chippewas scoreless in the top half of the 11th, Brady Birchmeier ripped a bases loaded single to left, scoring the winning run to complete the sweep.
Western Michigan 17, Miami 11
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team was down 8-0 after three-and-a-half innings on Sunday afternoon, but rallied to collect a 17-11 sweep-clinching victory over Miami. It extended WMU's winning streak to seven, its longest winning streak since 2021, and it marked the first sweep for the Broncos over the RedHawks since 1994.
All nine Western Michigan batters reached base at least once, with Jackson Kitchen, Michael Maloney and Cade Sullivan all collecting three hits apiece. Maloney also added a pair of walks and scored a career-high four times. Maloney, Sullivan, Dylan Nevar and Greg Budig each registered three RBIs.
The RedHawks jumped out to an 8-0 advantage with one in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth.
Western Michigan started to chip away with a pair in the bottom of the fourth. Budig got the Broncos going with a sacrifice fly, and Josh Swinehart came through with a two-out, RBI single to get WMU to within six, 8-2.
After Miami pushed across an unearned run in the top of the fifth, the Broncos tallied five in the home half. The Brown and Gold began the inning with four consecutive hits, starting with a Grady Mee lead-off triple. The sophomore then scored on a base hit by Kitchen. Two more singles followed to load the bases for Western Michigan. Nevar drew a walk to plate Kitchen and leave the bags full for Budig, who doubled home a pair. Swinehart capped the five-run inning with a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to 9-7.
DJ Thompson went out and got a quick three up, three down frame in the top of the sixth to turn things right back over to the Western Michigan offense.
The first seven Broncos who came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth all reached base, as Western Michigan erupted for 10 runs to move in front. Sullivan tied the game with a two-run double, and Maloney then raced home on a wild pitch to give WMU its first lead of the contest.
Nevar kept the ball rolling with a two-run base hit up the middle. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kitchen drew a free pass which allowed Nevar to touch home. The walk kept the bags full for Maloney, who cleared them with a three-run double to right center. Sullivan capped the 10-run outburst with a run-scoring single to make it 17-9.
It was the second time this season Western Michigan scored double-digit runs in an inning, with the Brown and Gold having tallied 12 in the second inning of a 19-1 win at Pepperdine back on Feb. 25.
Thompson earned the win for WMU after going 2.1 innings without allowing an earned run and racking up three strikeouts. Behind the sophomore, Western Michigan turned to the trio of Luke Thelen, Hayden Berg and Jake Gernon to preserve the lead, with Gernon retiring the RedHawks in order in the ninth to seal the victory and the series sweep.
Western Michigan continues its homestand on Tuesday afternoon as it welcomes Goshen to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. First pitch is slated for 3:05 pm.
Kent State 18, Toledo 12
Boxscore
TOLEDO- Kent State blasted a program-best 10 home runs in a comeback 18-12, extra inning victory over Toledo on Sunday afternoon.
The 10 homers are a program-record and bested the previous high of seven in a win over the Zips in Akron in 2022. The mark is second in Division-I this season, trailing only Duke who hit 11 against George Mason earlier this year. It's just the fifth time this decade a team has hit 10 or more Kyle Jackson, Lance MacDonald and Brody Williams each had two homer runs while Josh Johnson, Payton Ebbing, Michael McNamara and Ripken Reese each hit one. It wasn't just the long ball for the Flashes, it was a balanced offensive effort with each starter getting at least one hit and scoring at least one run.
Kent State stormed back in this one as Toledo built leads of 6-2 and 9-3 before the Flashes clawed back into the contest. McNamara's homer got the comeback started, a two-run homer that scored Ebbing and made it a 9-5 game. An inning later Brody Williams hit his second of the game, another two run homer to make it 9-7. The Rockets got one back in the bottom of the inning only to see the Flashes bang three homers in a four-run eighth. MacDonald and Johnson hit solo homers and two batters later Kyle Jackson hit his first homer of the game, a two-run shot to give Kent State its first lead at 11-10.
The lead didn't last long as the Rockets got a lead-off homer in the bottom of the eighth, tying things at 11. In the ninth, Ebbing picked a great time for his first college homer, sending a 1-0 pitch over the centerfield wall to give Kent State a 12-11 lead. The Rockets again answered, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth, but Peyton Cariaco got a ground out to get out of the inning, leave the winning run stranded and send the game to extras.
In the 10th, Johnson and Tim Orr started the inning with singles before Jackson cleared the bases with his second homer of the game, putting Kent State up 15-12. The Flashes weren't done, taking advantage of an error and putting two more on base in front of MacDonald. His second of the game cleared the right field wall and put the Flashes up six. Cariaco sent the Rockets down in order in the 10th, clinching the victory.
The win moves Kent State to 16-17 overall and 8-7 in the MAC, dropping Toledo to 19-17 overall and 12-6 in conference. A busy five-game week awaits the Flashes, first up is a trip to Happy Valley to take on Penn State on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.
Ohio 9, Eastern Michigan 4
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. — The Ohio baseball team (10-21, 6-12 MAC) earned a 9-4 victory over Eastern Michigan (13-21, 8-7 MAC) on Sunday, finishing the weekend with a 2-1 conference series win.
The Bobcats struck first in the top of the second on a solo home run by graduate student Trenton Neuer (Nicholasville, Ky.). They added to the lead on a single by freshman JR Nelson (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and a three-RBI double by senior Gideon Antle (Licking, Mo.).
Starter Blake Gaskey (Davenport, Iowa) kept Eastern Michigan from touching the lead through over half of the game to earn his first win of the season. Gaskey tossed seven and two-thirds innings for Ohio, in which he allowed just two runs on four hits. The right-handed pitcher also struck out five batters during his outing.
Ohio tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth on a two-run home run by redshirt junior Nick Dolan (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Dolan and Antle led the Bobcats at the plate with three hits each. Nelson, junior Jackson Cauthorn (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and graduate student Bryce Smith also had multiple hits with two a piece.
Junior Tyler Peck (Oak Creek, Wisc.) took over for Gaskey in the bottom of the eighth. He allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Bobcats shut down the Eagles before a rally could start.
Ohio will be back in action on Wednesday (April 17) at Dayton. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
