Crum crushes grand slam, baseball tops Prairie View A&M
Outfielder Jacob Crum hits the ball during the game against Northwestern at Theunissen Stadium on March 16.
Senior outfielder Jacob Crum's grand slam highlighted a five-run first inning for the Central Michigan baseball team.
From that point on, coach Jordan Bischel's ballclub never looked back.
The Chippewas (5-2) earned a 12-3 victory over Prairie View A&M on Feb. 23 in the Cardinal Classic at Vincent-Beck Stadium. In three games at the Cardinal Classic, CMU has combined for 35 hits – including 15 on Saturday.
"It's always good to get a win," Bischel said. "We are still learning to play with a consistent energy level, but each game gives us another opportunity to learn."
Along with Crum's slam in the first inning was an RBI single from designated hitter Griffin Lockwood-Powell.
Crum and Lockwood-Powell's damage at the dish provided insurance for starting pitcher Tyler Hankins, a junior left-hander. Crum, now hitting .318 on the campaign, finished 3-for-5 with a grand slam, triple and five RBIs.
Hankins (1-0), who picked up his first victory of the 2019 season, allowed three earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work.
Prairie View A&M's Derrick Curry allowed six runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 innings. He took the loss.
Ahead by five runs early, Prairie View A&M got on the scoreboard just before junior outfielder Zach Gillies jumped CMU's edge to 6-1 on an RBI double in the second inning.
Sophomore third baseman Chase Rollin drove in two runs on an RBI single in the seventh inning for the Chippewas, which was followed up by an RBI double from Lockwood-Powell in the eighth.
Along with Lockwood-Powell's two hits, Crum, sophomore shortstop Zavier Warren and senior second baseman Jason Sullivan all registered three hits.
Owning a 9-3 lead while in the midst of the eighth, senior catcher Evan Kratt punished the baseball for a two-run double, and Crum drove home the final run of the game on a single.
Once Hankins' day was done, Bischel went to senior southpaw Jack Collins out of the bullpen.
Freshman right-hander Ian Leatherman took over on the bump to start the eighth inning and went into the ninth before junior Grant Frazer was called to finalize the nine-run victory.
Collins, Leatherman and Frazer combined for 3 2/3 innings of shutout baseball.
Up next
The Chippewas wrap up the Cardinal Classic at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 against Lamar in Beaumont, Texas. Back on Feb. 22, CMU picked up a 4-2 victory against the Cardinals.
