Chippewas lose in extra innings despite Cole's 5-for-7 hitting performance
After a 3-for-5 day at the plate in game one Friday against Ohio, freshman center fielder Dazon Cole pushed his hitting streak to three games, going 5-for-7 Saturday against the Bobcats, but the Chippewas were unable to claim victory in Athens.
Cole hit his first home run of the year off Ohio pitcher Jake Rudnicki in the fourth inning, but it wasn’t enough as the Chippewas lost 5-4 in extra innings at Bob Wren Stadium. CMU is now 0-for-2 in extra inning games this season.
Freshman right fielder Daniel Robinson hit an RBI single to left field in the second inning to put the Chippewas on the board first. But the Bobcats hit a two-run home run in their half of the second inning to put them ahead 2-1.
Cole’s home run tied it at two, but Ohio got two runs in the fifth inning and took a 4-2 lead.
Cole tied the score again in the seventh inning after a two-run single with the bases loaded. Senior left fielder Ryan Heeke and junior first baseman Alex Borglin scored the two runs.
Cole is now 8-for-12 in the series with three RBIs and two extra-base hits.
"It certainly looks like (Cole's) starting to emerge a little bit," said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. "He's pitching a little bit better on the mound, too. He got the big hit in the seventh inning to tie the game and knocked in two. He's doing some good things."
Eight of the nine CMU starters had at least one hit, and five of those nine had more than one hit. CMU had 16 total hits while Ohio had 15.
Junior lefty pitcher Nick Deeg started the game on the mound for CMU. He went seven innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks. He struck out seven Bobcats.
Junior reliever Jordan Grosjean took over in the eighth inning and pitched into the 14th inning when he eventually gave up the walk-off RBI single to end the game. Grosjean went 6 1/3 innings giving up one run on six hits and two walks.
"I think both teams worked really hard to win this game today," Jaksa said. "Pitching was good on both sides. I felt we had some really good swings early against their (starter). That's the way it was. There were a couple times we left runners on third with one out. If we'd been a little more efficient to get that in, maybe we'd gotten a (win)."
CMU and Ohio will finish the three-game series in Athens Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman pitcher Pat Leatherman will start for the Chippewas.
