Saturday's MAC Baseball Results

BUFFALO, NY - After a season in which nearly half of its losses came on walk-off hits by the opposition, the Buffalo baseball team finally got one back.

 

With the game tied 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded, Alex Baldock lifted a soft fly ball high into the swirling winds above Amherst Audubon field.

 

"I was getting ready for the tenth inning to be honest," head coach Ron Torgalski said with a smile. "I saw it go up, and then the kid started to backpedal faster and I thought 'we might have a chance here.'"

 

And indeed the Bulls did, as the ball glanced off the glove of the retreating Akron second baseman and fell harmlessly into shallow right field, allowing the game-winning run to score and give Buffalo (10-20, 3-8 MAC) an emotional 7-6 win over the Zips (14-21, 7-5 MAC). The victory gave UB its first conference series win since 2010.

 

Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, the Bulls tied the game up thanks to savy baserunning. A walk by Thomas Richards and a single by Andy Smietana put runners on the corners with two outs. Matt Pollock hit a grounder to third base, but the fielder had no play at first. Instead, he went to second base, where Smietana was already rounding the base and heading to third. Caught in a pickle, Smietana held up the defense long enough to allow Richards to score from third and tie the game up

 

The team ran into trouble in the third though, as starting pitcher Mike McGee found trouble hitting the strike zone, walking the bases loaded before being relieved by fellow freshman Anthony Magovney. A fielder's choice and sacrifice fly would score two runs, but Magovney would pitch the team out of the danger zone and a 3-1 deficit.

 

The offense would again tie the score up in the fifth inning. Pollock and Jon Mestas hit back-to-back doubles to bring in the first run, and after Tom Murphy was walked intentionally and a fly out, Thomas Richards put a single right back up the middle to bring in the tying run. Richards had a perfect day at the plate, adding another hit and three walks in his five total at bats.

 

"Tom saw the ball really well today," Torgalski said. "He came through with a couple of big hits, but even with the walks he was getting on base and extending the innings. When he stays within himself at the plate he gets results."

 

Akron led off the next inning with a solo home run that snuck over the wall in left center field, but Buffalo again answered, with Mestas legging out an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth that scored Jason Kanzler. The Bulls earned its first lead of the day in the very next inning, as Richards and Smietana drew walks and Akron misplayed a sacrifice bunt attempt by Mike Burke that would score Richards from second base and put runners in scoring position. Kanzler laid down a perfect suicide squeeze that added another run and extended the lead to 6-4.

 

The Bulls experienced a bit of bad luck in the eighth inning, as Akron second baseman Tyler Begun hit a deep fly ball to center field that just missed the outstretched glove of Kanzler. Unable to brace himself, Kanzler slammed hard into the wall and was unable to get the ball into the infield, giving the Zips a 2-run inside the park home run that would tie the game. Despite the misfortune, Magovney again helped the team regain its composure and set Akron down in order, ending his sixth and final inning of relief.

 

"Anthony Magovney came in and threw well. We asked him to come in and give us an opportunity to get back in it and he did just that," Torgalski said. "He threw strikes, and they didn't hit him very hard and he was very composed. We played pretty good defense behind him, I thought our infield played well today."

 

In the bottom of the ninth, the first two Buffalo batters were set down in order. Facing extra innings for the second straight game, the home team rallied with Mestas drawing a walk. Dan Scahill was then hit by a pitch, and Tom Murphy hit a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop, but the defense was unable to make a play and the bases were loaded to set up Baldock's dramatic at bat.

 

"We just took two out of three, by no means are we out of the conference playoff race, and I haven't seen a team that is better than us when we're playing the way we're capable of," Torgalski said. "It was great to have three close games to see how we'd respond, and we responded in two of them and just had a little bit of bad luck in the other game. We've had probably 15 games like this, so its something that we're used to. I thought we responded well all weekend."

 

The Bulls will remain at home for a trio of mid-week games, welcoming in Big Four rival Niagara for a doubleheader Tuesday before facing Canisius on Wednesday. Game one against the Purple Eagles will start at 2 pm, with the game playing on a tape delay on Time Warner Cable Sports Wednesday at 6:30 pm.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)— The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped the middle contest of a three-game series, 8-6, to Central Michigan University Saturday, April 14, at Oestrike Stadium. The Eagles held a 6-2 edge after four, but the Chippewas tallied the final six runs of the game including a game-winning three-run homer from Jordan Dean in the eighth inning.

  

Eastern Michigan (15-19; 7-4 MAC) lost for just the fourth time (14-4) this season when taking a lead into the seventh inning. The Chippewas (15-20; 6-5 MAC) scored two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to pull back to within a game of the Eagles for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.

  

Daniel Russell and Ben Magsig each homered for the Eagles to bring their totals to two and three, respectively. Both blasts were of the two-run variety and accounted for all the runs a four-run fourth inning.

  

Jeffrey Rousseau (1-1) was charged with the loss after putting the tying and go-ahead runners on board in the eighth inning. Dean's sixth long ball of the year was hit off of Brian Valente, who tossed 1.2 innings in relief. Rousseau walked one and allowed a hit in two-thirds of an inning.

  

Steve Weber settled for a no-decision despite recording a decent outing over 6.1 innings. The junior starter departed with two runners on in the seventh. Collin Taylor was unable to strand them on the basepaths, giving Weber a final line of five earned runs with nine hits, two walks and four strikeouts.

  

Brent Ohrman continued to produce out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup with a 3-for-4 afternoon which included two singles, a double and a pair of runs scored. The senior co-captain has bumped his hitting streak up to 19 games and has reached base safely in 22 consecutive contests. He also stole his 15th bag of the 2012 campaign.

  

With a 1-for-5 performance, Bo Kinder extended his on-base streak to 27 games. Kinder started the day 0-for-4, but singled in his final plate appearance.

  

John Rubino (3-for-4) posted his first three-hit game of his young career and his third multi-knock performance. The freshman recorded a double and a run scored and made several nice defensive plays at second base.

  

 Russell (2-for-4) and Magsig (1-for-4) joined Sam Ott (2-for-5) as the EMU players to record two-RBI games. Ott recorded a hit for an 11th straight game and now has 10 multiple-hit contests to his credit.   

  

 After silencing him for much of the game Friday, the EMU pitching staff was outmatched by Dean on Saturday. The CMU three-hole hitter posted a 4-for-5 afternoon with a home run, three RBI and a trio of singles.

  

 Nate Theunissen (2-for-5) had another strong outing for Central Michigan with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run scored. Sam Russell was also 2-for-5 and drove in two runs.  

  

 Patrick Kaminska was not sharp in his second start of the season for the Chippewas. He lasted only four innings and gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits. However, Kaminska ended up taking a no-decision as Dylan Rheault (1-2) struck out seven batters over four innings and picked up the win. Dietrick Enns pitched a scoreless ninth and claimed his second save of the season.

  

 Ohrman recorded the first hit of the game for either team in the opening inning on a line shot to left field which he legged out for his sixth double of the season. Ott smacked a solid single to center field to dive Ohrman in and put EMU in front, 1-0.

  

 In the third, Ohrman struck again with a single to put a runner on with one out. With Ott at the dish, Ohrman broke for second and induced a wild throw from CMU catcher William Arnold to make it all the way to third base. Ott then fired a shot up the middle and plated Ohrman for a 2-0 Eagles' lead.

  

 Theunissen gave CMU its first real scoring threat of the afternoon when he hit a 2-1 offering from Weber off the centerfield wall to put runners at second and third with one gone. Russell got the Chippewas on the board for the first time in the series with a high chopper to shortstop which was good for an RBI single. After Rooney walked to load the bases, Houlihan tied the game, 2-2, on another infield single to the left side.

  

 Weber held the damage to just a pair of runs by recording a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.

  

 Russell powered the Eagles back into the lead with an opposite-field two-run shot to left for a 4-2 edge in the fourth. Then after Rubino (John) hit a double to left-center, Magsig cranked EMU's second home run of the frame over the right field wall to make it a 6-2 affair.

  

 Central Michigan cut its deficit to 6-3 in the top of the fifth when Theunissen tucked a fly ball just inside the right field foul line for an RBI double. Weber caught Russell looking at strike three to end the frame and preserve a three-run lead.

  

 The Eagles looked to add on to their advantage in the sixth when Rubino (John) hit for the second time on the afternoon and Magsig walked with no outs. But after Ohrman sacrificed the runners to second and third, Rheault retired Ott and Lee Longo on strikes.

  

 That missed scoring opportunity would leave the door open for CMU, who chased Weber with one out in the seventh inning and brought in a pair of runs before the third out was made. Theunissen plated Arnold on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and Russell singled off of Taylor to bring the Chippewas to within a run, 6-5.

  

CMU completed its rally in the eighth inning when Dean sent his fourth hit of the day over the wall in left-center field to bring in three runs and make it an 8-6 score for the visitors.

  

Rubino (John) ripped a single to lead off and Ohrman hit a one-out infield single in the bottom of the eighth, but the Eagles were unable to score either runner as the deficit remained two.

  

In the ninth, the Green and White was down to its final out before Tucker Rubino doubled and Russell followed with a base on balls to bring the winning run to the plate. Jamie Simpson stepped in to pinch hit for Rubino (John), but Enns rung him up on an offspeed pitch to earn the Chippewas the game-two victory.

  

The rubber match of this three-game set is slated for Sunday, April 15, at 1 p.m. Right hander Ryan Lavoie (3-1) goes for his fourth win of the year against CMU lefty Rick Dodridge (1-4).

TOLEDO, OH - Toledo allowed four runs in the ninth inning and suffered a disappointing 6-5 loss to Western Michigan on Saturday at soggy Scott Park. With the setback, the Rockets fall to 16-19 overall, 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Broncos (16-16, 6-4 MAC) sent eight batters to the plate against senior RHP Alex Radon in their final at-bat and collected four clutch hits to snap a seven-game losing skid against UT, dating back to the 2010 campaign. Pinch hitter Dan Shoots began the rally with a lead-off walk and Vinnie Booker belted a double to put runners at second and third base, bringing the crowd of 178 fans at Scott Park to the edge of their seats. Jared Kujawa then grounded out to the right side of the Toledo infield to score Shoots to make it a two-run difference. Andrew Sohn followed with a RBI single, before Jack Scanlon cleared the bases with a two-run home run to complete the comeback and even the weekend series at one win each. 

UT's Radon (0-5) was hit with the tough loss, allowing four runs with one walk in 1.0 inning of relief.

The Rockets looked like they were going to extend their win streak behind an outstanding start from senior RHP Matt Kuna, who allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with four punchouts over the opening 6.0 frames.

Offensively, sophomore C James Miglin (3-for-4, 3 RS) and junior 3B Wes White (3-for-4) paced the Midnight Blue & Gold with three hits each, while senior 2B Joe Corfman (2-for-5) also recorded a multi-hit effort in the disappointing loss.

The Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of two hits and a costly UT fielding miscue in the second inning. With runners on first and second base with two outs, WMU's Kujawa ripped a single through the right side that scored the first run, but the ball eluded senior RF Jeff Cola and allowed the other runner to circle the bases and score the second tally.

Toledo recovered one run in the bottom of the second on a RBI groundout off the bat of freshman LF Anthony Smith.

The Rockets threatened an inning later as they had runners at the corners with one out, but senior CF Ben Hammer popped out on a bunt attempt that resulted in a double play.

UT continued to put up good at-bats in the fourth frame and took advantage of a two-run double by senior 1B Mark Lapikas and a run-scoring two-base hit by Smith to send WMU starter Mike Moyer to the showers.

The Broncos had a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the sixth frame as they put runners on second & third base with one out, but UT's Kuna produced a strikeout and a fly out to end a potential big inning.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the eighth when Toledo received a RBI fielder's choice by junior LF Tyler Grogg to establish a three-run lead, 5-2, setting the stage for WMU's huge ninth-inning rally.

Monty Porter (1-1) was credited with the victory in relief. The third of four WMU hurlers to toe the rubber, Porter was extremely efficient in 4.1 innings and allowed one run on one hit to earn his first win of the spring.

Patrick Borlik came on in the ninth frame and closed out the narrow victory to register his team-high fourth save of the season.

(3-for-5) led Western Michigan with three hits. The graduate of nearby Bedford High School also tallied a team-high two RBI. 

The Rockets and Broncos will wrap up their three-game series tomorrow with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch at the corner of Parkside Blvd. and Hill Ave. Junior RHP Mike Hamann is scheduled to start for Toledo. 

The Bowling Green State University baseball team downed Kent State on Saturday afternoon, by a score of 9-6. The game, which was played with high intensity throughout, featured eight defensive errors, split four to each team. The Falcons took advantage of some Kent State mistakes to score seven runs in their final two at-bats. Jason Link was the winning pitcher on the afternoon, while Patrick Martin picked up the save.

 

Ethan McKenney got the start for the Falcons on Saturday, while his counterpart, Ryan Bores started on the mound for the Golden Flashes. Neither pitcher was lights-out on the afternoon, but they both kept the opposition under control throughout.

 

Kent State would jump on the scoreboard first, as they scored one run in the first inning and one run in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead after just 1.5 innings of play.

 

The Falcons would respond in the bottom of the second, thanks in part to Kent State’s defensive struggles. The Falcons would score two runs in the home half of the second inning, on just one hit, but three Kent State errors to tie the game.

 

The Flashes would tack on another unearned run in the top of the fourth inning, taking a 3-2 lead. That lead would hold up until the bottom of the seventh inning.

 

Ethan McKenney went 5.2 innings on the day, allowing just one earned run.

 

In the bottom of the seventh, Brian Bien would reach first base on a dropped third strike, putting a runner at first with one out. The next batter, Jake Thomas, would execute a perfect hit-and-run, advancing Bien all the way to third on the single. Logan Walker would fly out to shallow left field in the next at-bat, but the Falcons would test Kent State left fielder Alex Miklos. Miklos would fail the test, as his throw came up well short of the cut-off man, and Bien scampered home to tie the game at three.

 

The intensity was turned up from there, as Kent State appealed that Bien had left third early, but to no avail. After Kubuski was hit by a pitch, and Drew Kuns walked, Patrick Lancaster would single up the middle to score two runs and give the Falcons a 5-3 lead heading to the eighth.

 

The Falcons would help Kent State out in the top of the eighth, as Miklos would reach on a two-base error to begin the inning. After a single to score Miklos, Evan Campbell banged a two-run home run to right centerfield to put the Flashes back on top.

 

Jason Link would work his way out of the inning, keeping the score at 6-5. Kent State would bring Michael Clark on in relief of Ryan Bores in the bottom of the eighth, and he looked sharp, striking out the first two Falcons of the inning.

 

However, Clark would lose control of the next three batters, walking two and hitting another, to load the bases for Andrew Kubuski.

 

Kubuski would hit a dribbler up the third base line that Clark would field and airmail all the way down the right field line, scoring all three Falcons, and giving the Falcons an 8-6 lead. His command issues would continue to the next batter, as Kubuski would score on a wild pitch.

 

With a 9-6 lead, Patrick Martin would come on for a save situation. After a groundout to Brian Bien to begin the inning, Martin would fan the next two Flashes, and the Falcons would celebrate a victory over Kent State for the second straight day.

 

With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-20 overall, and 4-7 in MAC play. Kent State falls to 19-15 on the year, and 9-2 in the MAC. The two teams will conclude their series tomorrow afternoon from Steller Field, with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.