CMU baseball drops home opener to Oakland
Midland senior Jordan Patty pitches during the Chippewas home opener against Ohio in this April 2022 file photo. (CM Life file photo | Layla Blahnik-Thoune)
Central Michigan baseball hosted the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in its home opener Tuesday afternoon. Coming off of a win, the Chippewas looked to keep the momentum going.
CMU got the ball rolling early with a solo home run to left center field from redshirt freshman shortstop Bryson Webb. They immediately followed that up with an RBI from freshman left fielder Mikey Murphy.
The Golden Grizzlies responded in the second inning with an RBI of their own. CMU took a 2-1 lead into the sixth after four scoreless innings.
The Chippewas extended their lead to three off of two RBIs. With one coming off of a ground ball out to second base from sophomore designated hitter Cole Prout. The second run cam from a hit out to center field from senior center fielder Jake Brill.
With the lead and momentum on its side, Central Michigan looked to add to it in the seventh inning, but OU would not go quietly into the night.
At the top of the seventh inning, the Golden Grizzlies hit the trifecta, with an RBI single, double, and triple. The six runs that they scored put them up 7-4 and this ended up being the turning point in the game.
The Chippewas responded in the bottom of the seventh with a RBI double from redshirt sophomore catcher Spencer Verburg to cut the deficit to one.
In the eighth, OU hit a RBI double that brought its lead back up to three. They extended that lead to five in the ninth inning off of two RBIs.
CMU responded with a two-run home run from Verburg, but that would be all she wrote as the Chippewas lose another game that was within their grasp, 11-8. The Chippewas overall record falls to 4-17
Central Michigan is back to conference play this weekend as it hosts the Ohio Bobcats in a three-game series. The series starts Friday at 3 p.m.
