Baseball tops Northwestern to win four-game series


Pitching led the Central Michigan baseball team all weekend — including Sunday.

CMU defeated Northwestern, 7-5 in the final game of a four-game series, taking the series 3-1. The three wins over the weekend brings CMU's record to 8-11. 

"Today was just an extension of what we have done the last couple days," said head coach Steve Jaksa. "We played good defense and we pitched the ball better all weekend."

Pitching Summary

Sophomore pitcher Michael Brettell started on the mound for the Chippewas. Brettell allowed three runs from four hits in six innings of work. The Fonthill, Ontario native posted six strikeouts against 25 NU batters.

Junior pitcher Braxton Markle took over the mound in the seventh inning, only to be replaced by senior Jordan Grosjean later in the inning. Markle faced one batter who flied out to right field thanks to a diving catch from sophomore outfielder Daniel Robinson.

"Brettell, who hasn't started in a while, really did a nice job. He pitched six innings and we got a quality start from him," Jaksa said. "It was really good that we got Braxton Markle back in. It was a plus that he was able to get the guy he faced."

In the final two innings, Grosjean let in two runs off of four hits and completed the save after facing 12 batters.

Scoring Summary

NU opened scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a run scored by the designated hitter, Connor Lind.

CMU answered with two runs in the next inning. After loading the bases, NU's catcher tried to pick off Daniel Jipping at first base. He threw a wild pitch and the runners on second and third opened scoring for the Chippewas.

Both teams scored two runs in the fifth inning, but CMU tallied on three more in the sixth. They scored three runs off of two hits from Alex Borglin and Jason Sullivan and two Northwestern errors.

Northwestern rallied in the eighth inning by scoring two runs, but couldn't complete the comeback in the ninth.

Borglin, Sullivan and Robinson led the Chippewas with two runs each. Sullivan had three hits and one RBI.

What's Next

"Now we just have to get ready for our next game against Michigan State," Jaksa said. "The guys feel good about how they competed but at the same time we have to go to the next game."

CMU takes on Michigan State at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday in East Lansing. The Chippewas will begin a three-game home stand against Missouri State on Friday. 

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