Central Michigan University
Oakland
Big Inning Lifts Chippewas to 12-4 win
4/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Central Michigan used the big inning and took advantage of 10 walks and three wild pitches courtesy of Oakland pitchers Wednesday in posting a 12-4 non-conference baseball victory over the Grizzlies at chilly Theunissen Stadium.
The win, CMU's eighth in its last 11 starts, lifted the Chippewas to 21-12. CMU entertains Eastern Michigan in a three-game Mid-American Conference series beginning on Friday (3:05 p.m.).
Morgan Oliver had two doubles and drove in two runs to lead the Chippewas' 11-hit attack against Oakland (5-19). CMU starter Blake Hibbitts was solid over four innings and five relievers combined to hold the Grizzlies to five hits over the final five frames.
Oakland scored three times in the top of the fifth inning to seize a 3-2 lead, then the Chippewas answered immediately to take control.
Oliver, who had not had a hit since Feb. 21, led off the bottom of the inning with a double, took third on a bunt by Robert Greenman, and scored on Alex Borglin's single, tying the game at 3-3.
The Chippewas were just getting started. CMU collected four hits in the inning, a sacrifice fly and a stolen base and got plenty of help from the Oakland pitchers, who issued four walks, hit two batters and threw two wild pitches.
When the dust settled, CMU had sent 13 men to the plate and were firmly in control, 9-3.
"(Oliver) got the big hit, that's a big hit to start that, and Greenie puts down a great bunt and then you tie it and all of a sudden it starts going," Jaksa said.
Pat MacKenzie singled and doubled for the Chippewas, Borglin finished with two hits, and Logan Regnier drove in two runs. Borglin extended his hitting streak to six games, and is hitting .409 (25-for-61) in his last 16 games.
The Chippewas added two more runs in the sixth and one in the seventh. That CMU continued to build on its lead and maintain its concentration at the plate was particularly gratifying, Jaksa said.
"It was good to see us do that," he said. "I didn't think we gave many at-bats away. Maybe two at-bats, where we didn't have a good at-bat in that particular situation, but other than that I thought our guys were pretty focused in their at-bats.
"We've got to make sure that our focus stays good all the way through that game because everybody's going to keep playing hard to come back. It was good that when we got those seven runs, put us back up 9-3, and we kept scoring."
Hibbitts, a sophomore right-hander, allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three over four innings. It was his third start of the season, and each time he has gone farther into the game and to reach his ever-increasing pitch limit.
"The quality of his outing was again another plus outing from that standpoint as we continue to build him in that role," Jaksa said.
Josh Pierce, Sean Martens, Jimmy McNamara, Connor Kelly and Braxton Markle each took a turn on the mound in relief of Hibbitts.
Martens, the third CMU pitcher, earned the win, improving to 4-0. He struck out three and walked two over 1 2/3 innings in dropping his earned run average to 1.19.
