CMU baseball win streak reaches 10 in win over Oakland
Redshirt-Freshman infielder Robbie Morgan rounds third base after hitting his second home run during Tuesday's game against Oakland University at Theunissen Stadium.
Central Michigan baseball (27-13) stayed hot, as it won its 10th consecutive game in a midweek non-conference matchup against Oakland University (18-23) 8-2.
“If you want to win a bunch in a row, you got to do a lot of things right,” head coach Jordan Bischel said. “You're gonna have days where you might go up some runs and you got to score enough to win. But it does start with pitching and defense.”
Oakland got off to a fast start, as the third batter of the game, sophomore third baseman Brandon Nigh, took a 2-1 pitch to left field for a home run early in the game. CMU would tie the game in its half of the second with an RBI walk from redshirt sophomore infielder Robby Morgan IV.
The Golden Grizzlies hit another solo home run in their half of the third. Redshirt sophomore Drew Collins blasted a shot to right center to take the lead.
“We used -- I think it was six pitchers today and gave up the two home runs, and solo home runs usually don't beat you,” Bischel said.
CMU tied the game in the second on an error by Oakland, but Morgan changed that quick. He launched a two-run shot to deep left field, giving the Chippewas a 4-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
But Morgan wasn’t done yet. In his next at-bat, he picked up where he left off hitting another two-run home run again to left ,giving the Chippewas a 6-2 lead after five innings.
“Robbie was interesting because on paper, he maybe wasn't statistically having the season that you would have thought he would have but he was hitting a lot of balls hard,” Bischel said, “Eventually those balls will start falling and today he didn’t give them a chance to fall because he put them in spots where nobody could field them.”
CMU tacked on two more in the sixth when redshirt freshman infielder Luke Sefcik drove in a run on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch. Graduate student outfielder Garrett Navarra followed with a sacrifice fly, giving Central Michigan a comfortable 8-2 lead.
Though CMU threw six pitchers, most of whom were effective. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Ross was the most effective, throwing 2 2/3 innings, while striking out seven of the eight outs he recorded and allowing only one hit.
Oakland also sent six pitchers out to the mound. It's most effective was senior right-handed pitcher Noah Stants, who pitched a single inning, allowing no base runners and striking out one.
Central Michigan is back at it on Friday. The Chippewas host Miami (Ohio) in a weekend series starting at 3 p.m. at Theunissen Stadium.
