But on Saturday evening, when it needed one the most, luck ran out as Kent State held off CMU 5-3 to win its second consecutive Mid-American Conference championship at V.A. Memorial Stadium.

After falling behind 5-0 to the MAC East Division champions, CMU scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull within two. Sensing their second comeback of the day, the Chippewas got runners on first and second with nobody out in the ninth.

Instead, one of the worst-case scenarios happened. Senior James Teas lined to KSU shortstop Jimmy Rider, who stepped on second base and doubled up junior Matt Faiman to deliver the knockout blow.

The play would seize CMU’s momentum and stop them one game short of its goal of winning the MAC tournament.

“There will be tears of joy but there will also be tears of how close we were,” a somber and emotional head coach Steve Jaksa said after the game. “We wanted to set a standard. We were so determined that we wanted to get back to a regional. It doesn’t always work out for you.”

Kent State (39-23) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth and another in the 10th to come from behind and beat Eastern Michigan to advance to the title game earlier in the day.

With the win over CMU, the Golden Flashes receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and will play UCLA at 9 p.m. Friday in the Los Angeles regional.

“It hasn’t hit yet that this is my last game, but it will,” Teas said after game. “We battled through the whole game. Unfortunately, you can’t win them all.”

Senior Jesse Hernandez (8-3) took the loss after pitching on just two days rest. Hernandez, the 2010 MAC Pitcher of the Year, did not look his sharpest as KSU hitters tacked him for three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“It just didn’t work out,” Jaksa said. “I wish I had a better answer for it – I don’t have any answers. I just wish the result would’ve been different.”

CMU had several opportunities to score earlier, but a series of bad breaks and inability to get a hit with runners on base kept it off the scoreboard for much of the game.

Trailing 3-0 in the fifth inning with runners in scoring position, junior Matt Faiman hit a shot up the middle that bounced off the shin of KSU starter Kyle Hallock. Instead of skirting one or another, it went straight up in the air and resulted in an out. The Chippewas would end the inning without scoring.

With a pair of runners on in the sixth, sophomore Scott Phillion launched a fly ball to left field that was feet away from tying the game. Instead, CMU remained scoreless.

“If we had any of those balls, we would have had multiple runs, but it didn’t work out,” Jaksa said. “Even with that, with all those things happening, we still score and put two runners on in the ninth. I got no complaints with this group of guys. They showed great character and I loved the effort they gave and the way they went about their business.”

Staying alive

Earlier in the day, the Chippewas rallied for four innings in the bottom of the ninth inning of the first tournament semi-final game to beat Bowling Green 9-8.

CMU took a comfortable 5-1 lead into the seventh inning on sophomore Trent Howard’s fourth start of the season. After Howard ran into some trouble, MAC Freshman of the Year Dietrich Enns was brought in.

Enns struggled in the eighth, allowing five runs on two hits as the Falcons took an 8-5 lead.

But the Chippewas wouldn’t go quietly, rallying with three consecutive singles in the ninth to pull within two. After sophomore Nate Theunissen walked to load the bases, senior Dale Cornstubble singled to center field and Phillion tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

Senior Ricky Clark capped off the comeback with a bloop single.

“I know, deep down, that they will get a picture up on the wall and there will be reunions and talks about this championship season,” Jaksa said. “There will always be that that nobody can ever take away from them. There’s still a lot of pain, because wanted more.

“When you play at the level we’re playing at, it becomes a bonding and love affair. Not with each other but with the game, and you want to keep going.”