Tempers flared as the Central Michigan baseball team won its first series of the year against a Mid-American Conference opponent, taking down the Toledo Rockets 6-5 at home.

The main controversy erupted at the top of the seventh, when a ground ball to first base quickly caused benches to clear. CMU pitcher Max Hammond threw Toledo batter Luke Walton to the ground in an attempt to tag him out, causing Walton and several other players to engage in a shoving match.

“We teach our guys to tag with two hands,” head coach Jake Sabol said. “It’s a Sunday, it’s a heated game, competing to win a series against a team that wants to win just as much as we do. I love that our guys had each other’s backs out there.”

Following the fight, Hammond and Walton, along with relieving pitcher Ryan Hughes of the Rockets, were ejected from the game. It has not been confirmed whether any of the players involved will be subject to further punishments.

"Max is a fiery dude," Sabol said. "He came in [the dugout] and said [Walton] was barreling down the line. ... I didn't see the replay on it, I mean obviously you don't ever want something like that to happen."

Resilience was the mindset the Chippewas took on during the weekend, fighting to take the series win after suffering a blowout loss last Friday.

“I’m glad they got rewarded today for playing hard all the way through eleven innings,” Sabol said. “They’ve been working their tails off, and I’m glad to see them grab one here that usually has gone the other way for us.”

Central Michigan responded quickly after each Toledo run, beginning with freshman catcher Logan Keilen blasting a two-run homer in the third to tie the game at 2-2.

The Chippewas continued to push ahead after the fight, taking a 5-3 lead by the top of the ninth. However, with two outs and a chance to end the series, Toledo's Charlie Scholvin blasted a two-run home run to tie it all up. A scoreless inning by CMU sent the game into extra innings.

“I think that’s life,” Sabol said. “Life is about how you respond to situations. There’s going to be things that go wrong or right, but it’s temporary, right? You get to decide the next outcome, and that’s hard to do when things don’t go your way. So they are resilient, they keep showing up.”

This determination helped Central Michigan stay focused, and pitcher Jared Hanson kept Toledo off the board two straight innings. With second baseman Drew Loikits getting on base in the eleventh, the door then opened for junior right fielder Harrison Bowman to make the game-winning play.

“It’s really something you can’t describe,” Bowman said. “It doesn’t happen too much, so whenever walk-offs happen, it’s a pretty sweet feeling.”

Bowman took advantage of an inside pitch at the bottom of the eleventh inning, sending it to center field for an RBI to end the afternoon.

“I actually talked to my grandmother, … she said trust your eyes, you’ve got good eyesight," Bowman said. His grandmother passed away a few years ago, but he feels a connection to her to this day. "I’ve talked to her before every game. ... I talked to the Lord, also speaking with her and the dugout, just keeping me grounded and my head on straight."

This was Bowman’s second game-ending hit in as many days, and his numbers were spectacular during the Chippewas’ two wins in the series. He was named the MAC Player of the Week for his performances over the weekend, going 7-14 in his at-bats for ten RBIs, a grand slam, and a .857 slugging average.

Bowman, along with the rest of the Central Michigan team, will now turn their eyes toward a home showdown against in-state opponent Michigan State. The first pitch of this game will be at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Benches clear in Central Michigan baseball's first conference series win

Walk-off victory for the Chippewas overshadowed by a fight in the seventh inning

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