Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Michigan State
6-Run 9th Gives CMU Walk-off Win
4/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
DETROIT, Mich. -- Morgan Oliver started it. And ended it. In between, he got an awful lot of help.
Oliver's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning completed a remarkable comeback Wednesday as the Central Michigan baseball team stunned Michigan State, 8-7, to win the Fifth Annual Clash at Comerica.
The Chippewas trailed, 7-0, entering the bottom of the eighth and had just three hits to that point in the game.
They used three walks, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to scratch out two runs in the eighth, cutting their deficit to 7-2.
Oliver led off the ninth with a double. Three hits, three walks, a hit batsman, a sacrifice fly, and five runs later, Oliver came to the plate with runners at the corners, two out, and the game tied, 7-7.
He poked an 0-2 changeup through the hole between first and second, Nick Regnier raced home from third, the Chippewas had the win, and Oliver was shortly thereafter on the bottom of a dog pile of his teammates.
"I blacked out," Oliver said of the celebration. "I really don't remember anything. I turn around and I just see guys charging at me and all of a sudden I'm on the ground at the bottom of the dog pile. It was really surreal."
It was CMU's sixth consecutive win and its 12 in its last 15 games and it marked its second straight win in the `Clash' series with Michigan State.
CMU (25-12) plays at Buffalo in a three-game Mid-American Conference series beginning on Friday. At 10-2, the Chippewas lead the league by two games over Ball State, Akron and Kent State, each of whom is 8-4. Buffalo is 9-18, 4-8.
Tim Black (3-1), CMU's fourth pitcher, worked the ninth for the victory.
CMU starter Blake Hibbitts (0-3) allowed four runs on two hits, walked two, and struck out one over 2 2/3 innings. He left with the Spartans leading, 2-0, and his replacement, Jimmy McNamara, was greeted by Alex Troop, who stroked a two-run single to make it 4-0.
Josh Pierce also pitched in relief for CMU.
Michigan State (19-16) scored at least one run in its first five at-bats and led, 6-0, through five innings.
Things began to turn in CMU's favor in the eighth. With one out, Pat MacKenzie, Tyler Huntey and Logan Regnier drew consecutive walks to load the bases. MacKenzie scored on a wild pitch, then Nick Regnier hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2.
After Oliver led off the ninth with his double, Zach McKinstry and Alex Borglin drew back-to-back walks -- MSU pitching issued nine walks on the night -- and MacKenzie grounded out to bring in the first run of the inning.
Robert Greenman, who, like Oliver, was a late-inning replacement, delivered a two-run single to cut CMU's deficit to 7-5. Logan Regnier was hit by a pitch and Nick Regnier bunted for a base hit to load the bases.
Joe Houlihan followed with a walk to force in a run and Daniel Jipping tied it with a sacrifice fly to center.
"Piecing it together," Jaksa said. "One guy at a time, everybody doing their job. Nobody trying to do too much. Just get on base. If I can on base, I can keep the game going. And everybody got on base. Then the inning just keeps going, and at the end of the day, you get the dog pile."
"I think you could feel it. You could feel it in the stands. And again I think that was just everybody doing their job. There's a strong feeling in there that guys are working hard for one another."
