Bowling Green takes series from baseball team
The baseball team used some late-inning heroics to win one game of a three-game series against Bowling Green this weekend.
CMU (13-17 overall, 4-5 Mid American Conference) lost game one against the Falcons, but split Saturday's doubleheader. CMU used a four-run rally in the ninth inning to take the game from BGSU.
"I think that said a lot about our team," said coach Steve Jaksa. "It also said a lot when we were down 14-0 on Friday and we scored 10 runs. In the third game, we just couldn't do it."
The Chippewas lost the last game of the series 11-4. CMU fell behind in the second inning after first base umpire Mike Wallace determined right fielder Matt Faiman dropped the ball on an attempted diving catch at the warning track. The call reversed a double play and BGSU scored six runs in the inning.
Bowling Green's offense was a consistent threat in the third game, recording 20 hits. Freshman pitcher Trent Howard lasted only 1 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits. Howard allowed five runs after Faiman's attempted diving-catch at the warning track.
"We are battling from behind and it is tough to do that every single game," Jaksa said. "I would like to always be ahead but we just haven't been. But, our guys never quit and we showed that in the second game."
In Saturday's come-from-behind win, freshman third baseman William Arnold brought the Chippewas within two runs with a RBI double to left-center field in the ninth inning. Junior catcher Dale Cornstubble tied the game with a two-run home run over the left field wall.
The next CMU batters loaded the bases, and Faiman hit a ground ball through the gap between first and second base to drive in the game-winning run.
"Our biggest success comes when we start getting into the other team's bullpen," said junior outfielder Billy Anderson. "The only way to do that is to get on the starting pitcher early and knock him out of the game."
Central has a two-day break before taking on the University of Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday at Theunissen Stadium.
"We haven't played a team that was better than us," Anderson said. "We just have to play the same every day."
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