Central Michigan University
Xavier
CMU Baseball Falls At Xavier
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
James Youness, CMUChippewas.com
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Xavier broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run eighth inning Saturday in handing Central Michigan an 8-5 loss in the second game of a three-game non-conference series at the Musketeers' Hayden Field.
The Chippewas (4-14) are scheduled to conclude the series against the Musketeers (6-12) Sunday at noon. Xavier won Friday's opener, 5-0.
Joe Gellenbeck's sacrifice fly in the eighth put Xavier in front, 6-5. Andre Jernigan followed with an RBI single, and Daniel Rizzie stole home for the final run.
The Chippewas finished with 12 hits, three of them from Zach McKinstry. Alex Borglin and Jason Sullivan each singled and doubled, Daniel Jipping, Dazon Cole, Colton Bradley and Jarrod Watkins each singled.
"We had 12 hits, so we swung the bats pretty well," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "We stranded 13 guys on base, which we need to improve on. We had several big hits to close the gap. It was a great combination of guys staying scrappy at the plate. We were just a few swings away.
"There were a couple plays in the eighth that didn't go our way. We had our opportunities and had the right guys in place. We got some big hits and we need to keep working in order to get those hits."
Jordan Grosjean (1-1) worked 3 1/3 innings of relief and allowed three runs on five hits in taking the loss. CMU starter Michael Brettell pitched 4 2/3 innings. He allowed five runs on six hits, walked five and struck out five.
Brad Kirschner (2-1) worked 2 2/3 innings of relief and picked up the win. He allowed one run on three hits. Garrett Schilling worked the ninth for his third save.
Andre Jernigan and Rylan Bannon homered for Xavier.
