​Sloppy second inning dooms baseball against Michigan State


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Junior outfielder Logan Regnier drops the ball in the outfielder May 12 against Michigan State University. Five unearned runs would score in the inning. Regnier would go 1-for-4 in the loss at Theunissen Stadium.

Central Michigan University baseball attempted another comeback against Michigan State University on Tuesday, but fell short 13-7.

The Chippewas erased a 7-0 eighth inning lead on April 15 at Comerica Park to top the Spartans 8-7, and looked for a similar rally Tuesday after falling behind 10-1 in the 2015 home finale at Theunissen Stadium.

“I thought the late innings went about the same (as at Comerica),” said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. “We were a line drive away from being three runs down. I think they remembered what happened down there and I think we were in a position to make a little bit of a run at them.”

CMU scratched across three runs in the eighth to cut the deficit to 10-5. With the bases loaded, the tying run came to the on-deck circle, but never had a chance to come to the plate as junior third baseman Joe Houlihan lined out on a 3-2 pitch.

A three-run home run by the Spartans in the top of the ninth put MSU back up eight, cementing the loss for CMU–even after a pair of Chippewas runs in the bottom half of the inning.

MSU’s six-run second inning came back to haunt the Chippewas.

“The second inning we obviously made one mistake in there,” Jaksa said. “That mistake, we just couldn’t pitch over it. That’s a big situation.”

A hard-hit ball got just past Houlihan’s outstretched glove to give MSU a 1-0 lead. The mistake came when junior outfielder Logan Regnier dropped a ball in right field that would have been the third out of the inning.

By the end of the inning, MSU had four doubles off sophomore pitcher Jordan Grosjean (0-4, 5.97 ERA) and a 6-0 lead, with five runs being unearned–all following the Regnier error.

Grosjean finished the day pitching 4 1/3 innings, allowing 11 hits, one walk and eight runs (three earned).

Both teams had a pair of home runs, with CMU’s coming from freshman designated hitter Daniel Jipping and sophomore catcher Robert Greenman.

It was Greenman’s first career home run. He went 3-for-4 with three runs and an RBI on Tuesday.

The Chippewas fall to 32-20 with the loss. They finish out the regular season in a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series on the road against Western Michigan. A sweep would guarantee CMU the top seed in next week’s Mid-American Conference Tournament.

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About Taylor DesOrmeau

Taylor DesOrmeau is a senior at Central Michigan University, majoring in integrative public relations ...

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