CMU baseball takes down BGSU 10-5 in non-MAC game
Freshman infielder Zach McKinstry bats against Eastern Michigan April 11 at Theunissen Stadium.
Even though this game was considered a non-Mid-American Conference game, the Central Michigan baseball team had its first taste of MAC competition as the Chippewas (4-12) defeated the Bowling Green Falcons (7-9) 10-5 on Tuesday.
Freshman pitcher Grant Wolfram started for CMU. He went 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk. He struck out one.
BGSU scored four of its five runs in the game in the bottom of the second inning. After a leadoff double, Falcons designated hitter Greg Basalyga hit an RBI double to score the first run of the game. Two batters later, BGSU shortstop Cody Callaway hit a two-run home run to left field. An RBI single later in the inning made it 4-0.
The Chippewas quickly answered with a seven-run third inning. Sophomore left fielder Daniel Jipping hit a two RBI double, freshman center fielder Dazon Cole hit a two RBI single, senior third baseman Joe Houlihan contributed with an RBI walk and freshman catcher Blake Cleveland and sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry both picked up an RBI single.
"(McKinstry) was a good player for us last year," said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. "He's steady and he works really hard at his game. That's what you want all your guys to do. He's a tough kid and he knows who he is. He's a team guy and he's looking out what's best for everybody. He wants to be the first one on the field and off the field."
McKinstry finished the day 1-for-4 with an RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch.
The Chippewas never let BGSU take back the lead.
Six of CMU’s seven runs in the third inning came with no outs. The Chippewas’ first nine batters of that inning got on base while four Chippewas batted twice in the third.
"Any inning can always take its own shape in a hurry because the other team has to get three outs," Jaksa said. "We just didn't make outs."
An RBI single by freshman second baseman Jason Sullivan scored CMU’s eighth run of the game in the sixth inning, while an RBI walk and an RBI hit-by-pitch gave CMU the 10-5 lead in the ninth.
"Jason Sullivan made some nice adjustments offensively as the game went on," Jaksa said. "He got a two-out knock that knocked in our eighth run after (BGSU) had pulled within two. You gotta have some big two-out knocks and he had one of them."
The Falcons got their fifth run of the game in the fifth inning thanks to a home run by their second baseman Riley Minorik off junior relief pitcher Jordan Grosjean. The Falcons didn’t get a hit for the rest of the game.
Only two Falcons were left on base due to a walk during the last four innings of play. Grosjean pitched 4 and 1/3 innings giving up no walks and just the one hit and one run.
Senior pitcher Sean Renzi came on to close down the Falcons in the ninth. He walked two and struck out one.
"(Bullpen depth) is gonna be real important," Jaksa said. "We gotta still develop a couple more guys in the bullpen so it's still a work in progress. It's not done yet, that's for sure. But right now (Renzi and Grosjean) are probably our top two righties in the bullpen. On the left side we got Jimmy McNamara and Brady Williams."
The Chippewas now head to Xavier for a three-game series this weekend.
