CMU baseball rallies in ninth to steal win in double-header against Ohio
Central Michigan will look to close out the series with a win on Saturday
The Central Michigan University baseball team celebrates defeating Ohio University in a walk off at the baseball game at Keilitz Field in Theunissen Stadium on Friday, April 17, 2026. Senior outfielder Joey Milto hit a walk off allowing redshirt freshman outfielder Dominic Bouscher to score the winning run. (CM-Life | Jasmine Brookins)
After rallying in the ninth from a 3-1 deficit and forcing extra innings, Central Michigan baseball was looking to steal the second game of a Friday afternoon doubleheader right from under the Ohio Bobcats.
In extras, all it took was two batters. Designated hitter Logan Keilen knocked a double into center field and center fielder Zach Knowlton hit the game-winning RBI single to complete the comeback and trigger a massive celebration for him and his teammates.
“You fight like heck there at the end to grab one, which is great,” head coach Jake Sabol said. “It makes the day a heck of a lot better. So we've been on the wrong end of that way too many times, so it feels good to do it to somebody else.”
Two very different-looking games were played at Theunissen Stadium as the Chippewas hosted the Bobcats in a double-header to open the weekend series. Central Michigan outmatched Ohio in an offensive-heavy game one, winning 15-5, and rallied in the second game to take the 4-3 win.
The victories move Central Michigan to 16-19 overall and 9-11 in Mid-American Conference play.
Game 1
Offense was the name of the game for the Chippewas in the first matchup, but it was a different type of offense than the team is used to seeing. On the year, Central Michigan has 45 home runs, five more than the team tallied throughout the entirety of last season. On Friday, however, no one hit anything over the wall.
“If we're not gonna hit the ball off the fence or over the wall, you gotta apply pressure in different ways,” Sabol said. “So I thought we did a really good job of doing that.”
Six Chippewas tallied two hits each as Central Michigan walked it off in the seventh due to the run rule, 15-5.
The Chippewas pounced on Ohio’s starting pitcher early, striking twice in the first inning. After reaching base on a walk and getting to third on a teammate’s single, third baseman Bryson Webb crossed home on a fielder’s choice from left fielder Cole Prout, his first RBI of the game.
Prout led the team on offense in game one with four RBIs on two hits.
“When he's going, it really gets us going. … It's good to have a veteran like him in the three hole behind those other guys,” Sabol said.
Two batters later, an RBI single from first baseman Brady Krzciok scored the second run.
Central Michigan continued its success in the third and found itself with the bases loaded and no outs with a chance to do some more damage on the scoreboard. Keilen left his mark on the game as he fired a double down the left-field line, tacking on three more runs. A sacrifice-fly from Knowlton made it 6-0.
The fourth was full of fireworks from both offenses. The Bobcats cut into the lead with five hits and three runs, halving the deficit.
However, Central Michigan responded with three runs of its own, two of which came from a two-RBI single down the right-field line from Prout.
Led by a two-RBI triple from second baseman Miguel Correa Jr. and an RBI double from Prout, the Chippewas put up four runs in the fifth inning. The team added another in the sixth.
Correa Jr. finished the game with three RBIs on two hits.
Ohio managed to score two runs in the top of the seventh to prolong the game, but senior Joey Milto walked it off for the Chippewas with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.
Ohio’s starting pitcher, freshman Mason Gass, finished his outing having given up nine hits and 10 runs before getting pulled in the fifth inning.
Central Michigan starter Tyson Potts got through nearly all seven innings, allowing 10 hits, five runs and collecting four strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.
The team did cut down on walks in both games, a point of emphasis from Sabol afterwards. In the two games earlier in the week, the Chippewas gave up 17 walks to their opponents. Against Ohio, the team surrendered just eight in both games, highlighted by just one from Potts.
“That's a heck of a lot better than what we've been doing, right?” Sabol said. “Forcing the ball in play. Our defense is playing really well. And when the ball's in play and your defense is playing well, it's a good combination to have.”
Game 2
The second game of the day was a lower-scoring affair. After two scoreless innings, Ohio drew first blood with a ground-out RBI from center fielder Taylor Harris in the top of the third.
Ohio scored again in the fourth due to a series of mistakes by Chippewa starting pitcher Hayden Bailey and his catcher Spencer Verburg. After getting on base with a walk, second baseman Will Henson advanced to second on a wild pitch, got to third on a passed ball, and scored because of another wild pitch.
Central Michigan scored its first run in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice-fly from shortstop Drew Loikits.
Down two and needing a rally in the ninth inning, the Chippewas tied the game with a sacrifice-fly from right fielder Harrison Bowman and sealed the comeback in the tenth.
“I think if you constantly are bringing up the team and talking about what we're doing wrong… it just puts more pressure on 'em to do it there,” Sabol said. “So we were pretty relaxed the entire time and just wanted them to go play 'cause we believe in their abilities and how they could do it.”
Bailey finished his five-inning outing surrendering three hits, two runs and three walks while striking three batters out.
“He was working through a lot of stuff,” Sabol said. “He was always deep in the counts. He was behind. He battled. He made some big pitches.”
In relief, Jack Potteiger threw 2.2 innings, giving up four hits and one run. Cameron Niehaus finished off the game with 2.1 innings of work with zero hits or runs to his name.
The Chippewas are back at it again on Saturday as they finish off the series against the Bobcats. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“Every game right now is the biggest game of the season,” Sabol said. “So just trying to come loose tomorrow and realize we got something in front of us we gotta go accomplish and do everything we can to go do it.”
