CMU baseball collapses in series finale against Ohio
Late game meltdown propels the Bobcats past the Chippewas
Central Michigan University senior outfielder Cole Prout, left, and junior outfielder Harrison Bowman, right, run one after another through third base during the game against Ohio University at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (CM-Life | Alivia Cranick)
It was the bottom of the seventh with two outs, and the Central Michigan baseball team loaded the bases down five runs with a chance to get back in the game.
The fly out to center field that followed summed up the finale of this series against the Ohio Bobcats, in which the Chippewas suffered a 16-6 defeat Saturday.
CMU had already clinched the series victory, keeping the streak of not losing a series to Ohio since 2009 alive.
Saturday’s game marked the Canines at Keilitz event for fans, which gave them the opportunity to bring their furry friends to the ballpark. However, like the dogs present at Theunissen Stadium, the Chippewas let out a whimper in the late innings.
Early struggles by the Bobcats put CMU up in the first, with the first three batters of the Chippewas’ lineup working around the bases to jump ahead 3-0.
“That’s one of our offensive team goals every game,” head coach Jake Sabol said. “Can we score first and force the other team to come from behind? … We felt real good about where we were at, obviously left some stuff on the table as the game went on.”
The game grew quiet as both teams went scoreless, but Ohio closed the gap in the top of the fourth with two runs following a pair of CMU fielding mistakes.
Central Michigan rotated through six pitchers over the course of the day. Starting pitcher Gavin Moczydlowsky finished the day with 96 pitches for four strikeouts, while allowing five walks and five hits.
However, it was all Bobcats in the top of the seventh, scoring eight total runs in a pitching collapse that felt all too familiar for the Chippewas. Ohio hit two homers past the left field wall for five of those runs, sending its dugout into a frenzy.
“We only needed an out or two, and it felt like we weren’t able to do that later in the game,” Sabol said. “Coming out of the bullpen we’re bringing you in to shut something down, but I think we just added fuel to the fire in those scenarios which hurt us.”
Miscues with fielding plagued Central Michigan all afternoon, with dropped pop flies and missed ground balls being a factor in the sudden meltdown during the seventh.
“I think [CMU’s players] all know in those situations what they need to do, but I think it’s my job as coach to make sure that they do, and find out where we went wrong,” Sabol said. “Things that we normally do really well, we preach and we talk about from a defensive standpoint, in that inning we got exposed by not doing them the way we’re supposed to.”
CMU wasn’t prepared to go down easily, responding with five hits and three runs in the bottom of the seventh to stay alive. Third baseman Bryson Webb, the team leader in batting average with a .347, was the offensive star of the day yet again for the Chippewas with three hits for one run and an RBI.
“It got us back into the game, but that stuff needs to happen earlier,” Sabol said. “You do that sooner, the game’s in a different spot in that time … but it was a little too late for us.”
Despite their efforts, the Chippewas’ comeback attempt would fall short. Ohio kept the pressure on in the eighth, scoring five more runs to eclipse the home team 16-6. Central Michigan went scoreless in the bottom of the inning to end the game by run rule.
With the loss, CMU drops to 16-20 overall and 9-12 in the conference. However, winning this series was crucial if the Chippewas wanted to keep themselves in the race for the Mid-American Conference tournament.
“If you can win the weekend and snag a few of the games that maybe you’re not supposed to, you can usually put yourself in a good situation,” Sabol said. “When you get later in the year, every game is so darn important that sometimes it can take away from the overall weekend.”
Looking ahead, Central Michigan has a Tuesday road visit against Oakland, before it travels for the first of its final four MAC series of the year, this time against Miami (OH). They will return back home on April 29 for a non-conference date against Rochester Christian.
