Central Michigan University Athletics
Bobcats Edge Chippewas, 5-4
3/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Two hard-hit balls turned into two dazzling defensive plays in the bottom of the ninth as the Central Michigan baseball team was turned away, 5-4, by the Ohio Bobcats at Theunissen Stadium on Sunday.
The Chippewas have lost their first conference series in 15 tries with the setback, but they didn't go down without a fight. After trailing 4-0 early, CMU battled back to tie the game at four before finding themselves down one entering the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Stovall beat out an infield single to put the tying run aboard, and Sean Hoorelbeke drove a ball to the wall that looked like a sure extra-base hit. Jeremie Rehak, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth, reached over his head and made a great defensive play to rob the Chippewa slugger of perhaps a game-tying hit.
CMU would end up loading the bases after a single by James Teas and Billy Anderson was hit by a pitch with just one out. Jeff Nowaczyk lined a ball up the middle that was speared by second baseman Zach Keen who dove to the bag, doubling up the runner to end the game.
"Sometimes you need a little luck and maybe they had some of that today but they made some nice plays," head coach Steve Jaksa said. "We just needed one of those last two balls to fall and we didn't get either to fall and that's the way it goes some times. They have a good ball club."
The Bobcats scored four runs in the fifth after two were out, getting back-to-back doubles and four straight two-out hits in all, with the big blow a two-run double by Matt Stiffler off CMU starting pitcher Dan Taylor. Though the series' first two games, OU is batting .419 (13-for-31) with runners in scoring position and .500 (15-for-30) with two out. 15 of their 18 runs in the series have come with two out.
CMU got three runs back in the bottom half of the frame, two on a double by pinch-hitter Brendan Emmett and one on a single up the middle by Stovall. Three straight one-out singles by Anderson, Nowaczyk and Jeff Helps produced a run in the sixth to knott the game at four.
The Chippewas would load the bases three times in the final four innings but managed just one run in those opportunities.
Taylor went 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits while walking one and fanning five. Jesse Hernandez (1-3) took the loss in relief, going 2.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit. He struck out three and walked one.
Central will try to salvage game three of the season series on Monday, when Steve Teno (2-2, 2.27 ERA) faces OU's Jason Moutlon (1-1, 4.30 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
