Central Michigan University
Ball State - MAC Tournament
Chippewas Rally for 8-7 MAC Tourney Win
5/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio -- The never-say-die Central Michigan University baseball team pulled one out in wild fashion here Thursday in the second round of the 2005 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament.
Trailing by a 7-5 margin going into the bottom of the ninth against Ball State University, the Chippewas scored three times to advance to Friday's winner's bracket game against the host and No. 1 seed RedHawks of Miami University at 10 a.m.
The winner of that game automatically advances to Saturday's championship game. Miami advanced with a 9-5 11-inning win over Western Michigan.
CMU has now won 17 straight games against MAC competition to raise its record to 41-16. BSU drops to the loser's bracket with a 37-17 record and will meet Akron in an elimination game at 1 p.m.
The Cardinals took a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth thanks to a two-run homer off James Ricchio by BSU's Marc Franz in the top of the frame.
With two outs, the score remained 7-5 although Eric Cannon was standing on third for the Chippewas. Brian Campbell then looped a single down the right field line to score Cannon. Troy Moratti followed with a single to right center, advancing Campbell to third with the tying run. Pinch-hitter David Latour Jr. singled him off BSU relief ace Erik Morrison. Jim Geldhof then drove in Moratti with a bouncing single up the middle for the win.
Ricchio was the beneficiary of the three-run outburst, picking up his first win against one loss. Ricchio allowed three hits and two runs in two innings, striking out two and walking none.
The CMU starter was freshman Josh Collmenter. He went six and one-third innings, giving up 12 hits and five runs, four earned. Mark Lundquist faced one batter in the seventh and got a doubleplay.
Ball State scored twice in the first and made it 3-0 with a run in the third.
CMU got its first run in the third -- and its first hit off MAC Freshman of the Year Ben Snyder -- when Brian Campbell slugged a solo homer to left. It was his first of the season.
The Chippewas cut it to 3-2in the fourth when Geldhof had an infield singled, took third on a double to left by Bryan Mitzel and scored on Kurtis Wells' bouncer.
The Cardinals took a 5-2 lead with two in the sixth but Mitzel got two back in the bottom of the frame with a home run to left center -- his ninth of the season.
Mitzel tied it at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth with a towering homer to straight-away center (No. 10) to set up the crazy ninth.
Mitzel was three-for-three with three RBI while Geldhof and Campbell had two hits each.
The win was 99th of head coach Steve Jaksa's career. He's now 99-68. The 41st win also tied for the fourth most in Chippewa annals.
All of the MAC tourney action can be heard on WMMI (830AM) in Mount Pleasant.
Miami is 41-15 and the 2005 MAC champions with a 17-4 slate. However, the automatic NCAA representative will be the MAC tourney winner.
