CMU baseball takes series against Western Michigan
April showers threw a wrench into the first game of the series on Thursday
Central Michigan University senior outfielder Cole Prout walks off the first game against Western Michigan with a score of 8-7 at the baseball game at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium on Friday, April 3, 2026. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
Rain and lightning tried to keep Central Michigan down, suspending play from Thursday night to Friday morning. But the wait was worth it, as designated hitter Cole Prout delivered a walk-off hit after a 16-hour pause.
“I felt weird driving home yesterday,” head coach Jake Sabol said. “It was weird because we didn’t win, and we didn’t lose. I didn’t know what to think or feel.”
The delay may have benefited the Chippewas by halting Western Michigan’s momentum.
“Western gets the hit to tie it, and the next batter has the lightning delay. I felt like they got all the momentum before that happened, and that might have been one of the best things that could have happened for us,” Sabol said. “It allowed us to go in there and say tomorrow we just got to get one out, and we’re in the bottom half here.”
Western Michigan entered with a 13-12 overall record and a 9-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play after sweeping the University of Massachusetts. Central Michigan sat at 9-15 overall and 3-9 in conference play. But records don’t carry much weight in a rivalry like this.
One of the most notable players in the series was Western Michigan center fielder Tanner Mally, who entered the game leading college baseball with a .558 batting average.
Mally showed his speed and discipline at the plate, reaching base five times, including two hits and an RBI. But his performance wasn’t enough to secure the win.
Western Michigan struck first, capitalizing on a fielding error by first baseman Brady Krzciok. Mally later scored on another error to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead.
Central Michigan responded quickly. Bryson Webb singled, and an error in left field allowed Harrison Bowman to reach base. A double steal set up Logan Keilen’s sacrifice fly to tie the game, and another error allowed the Chippewas to take a 2-1 lead.
Western Michigan regained the lead with a bases-loaded walk in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth, making it 3-2.
A Western Michigan error set up Webb for a three-RBI, bases-clearing double to take a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
A passed ball and an RBI single from Logan Keilen capped a five-run fourth inning, extending the lead to 7-3.
Western Michigan responded with three runs in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 7-6 at the top of the fifth.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Broncos left fielder Cooper Hums hit a single to tie the game at 7-7. Moments later, lightning suspended play until Friday morning.
When play resumed, Cameron Niehaus recorded the final out of the eighth and held Western Michigan scoreless in the ninth.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Miguel Correa Jr. reached on an infield single. Prout delivered the line drive into the left-center gap, scoring Correa Jr. from first for the walk-off win.
A celebration ensued, the win meant a lot for Prout, a senior, in his final regular-season series against the Chippewas’ biggest rival.
“We don’t like those guys, and they don’t like us at all. That’s the nice way to put it,” Prout said. “It was really nice to get over that hump and beat them.”
The game ended in dramatic fashion. They couldn’t celebrate for too long, though, as they had to take the field just 30 minutes later for the first game of a doubleheader.
