And the Chippewas got it, with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning, beating the Rockets 7-6 in front of 403 at Theunissen Stadium to claim sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.

In the bottom of the ninth, junior catcher William Arnold singled to center and advanced on a passed ball. After an intentional walk to junior designated hitter Nate Theunissen and a single by sophomore Jordan Dean single, junior Sam Russell came to the plate with an opportunity to win it with the runner just 90-feet away.

His sacrifice fly to right field scored Arnold easily, winning the game for the Chippewas.

“What a great series with Toledo, they swung the bats real well and were aggressive,” said head coach Steve Jaksa. “We were even today, but we got one more run. It was a heck of a series and we like where we’re at.”

Senior right-hander Jake Sabol got the start and had a quality outing, pitching five innings without walking a single batter, while allowing only two earned runs.

Left-handed senior Mike Nixon finished the game going four innings, striking out three and also allowing just two earned runs.

The Chippewas (26-21, 14-7 MAC) helped out their senior pitchers by producing seven runs on 13 hits.

It took an early 2-0, when junior Tyler Hall scored on a ground out by Theunissen. Senior Robbie Harman sacrificed, allowing Russell to score from third in the second inning.

UT (24-22, 13-8 MAC) got two runs back in the third when junior Jeff Cola grounded into a double play that allowed second baseman Wes White to score. Center fielder Ben Hammer later scored on a passed ball.

CMU struck back when senior Tom Howard doubled, allowing Russell to score from first after a walk. UT responded, getting another run back in the fifth, but the Chippewas would answer again on a fielding error, scoring senior Brendan Emmett.

However, UT answered the call once again, tying the game on another passed ball by Arnold.

But Howard provided some power, belting his third home run of the season, giving CMU a one-run lead heading into the seventh. After a Russell single to center field, the Chippewas held a two–run lead going into the ninth.

However, the Rockets weren’t done.

After a sacrifice bunt, UT had runners on second and third with one out and it prevailed when Cola came through with two RBIs.

But CMU was too much in the ninth and now holds sole possession of first place in the MAC West.

“When the games come down to the end, you have to lean on your seniors,” Jaksa said.

The win came on senior day at Theunissen Stadium.

“The seniors today did a great job, I was very pleased with Jake (Sabol) and (Mike) Nixon,” he said. “Harman had some great plays and Howard had a great game.”

Howard went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and just a triple shy of the cycle.

“It felt pretty good to get one out on senior day with my parents and family here,” Howard said. “I saw the ball pretty good and got a few fastballs, which was surprising and also got some good swings on them.”

The first place Chippewas continue the home stand at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday against Michigan State.