Central Michigan University
Kent State
Chippewas Move Back Into First-Place Tie
4/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
KENT, Ohio - Hand this one to the bullpen.
Michael Brettell and Colton Bradley combined to hold Kent State to one run on one hit over the final 5 2/3 innings Saturday as the Central Michigan baseball team wrestled away a critical 7-4 Mid-American Conference victory at the Golden Flashes' Schoonover Stadium.
Both teams are 11-3 in league play, and lead their respective divisions, CMU the West and Kent State the East. The Chippewas are 23-19 overall, Kent State is 26-13. The series is even at a game apiece. The rubber match is Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Our guys played a hell of a game," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "That was a gritty, competitive game right there baby. We played the whole game and fought and fought and fought.
"I'm just so proud of how the guys played. Really, just tremendous heart. They left it all out on the field."
The Chippewas, who left 11 runners on base, collected 14 hits, three by cleanup man Daniel Jipping. The junior, who drove in two runs, is hitting .476 (10-for-21) with 14 RBI in his last five games.
Daniel Robinson, Robert Greenman and Dazon Cole added two hits apiece for the Chippewas.
A Jipping fourth-inning sacrifice fly gave the Chippewas a 5-1 lead. Kent State answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. With two runs in, one out, and a runner at second, Brettell relieved starter Tyler Hankins and got a popup and a strikeout to end the threat.
Bradley came on to start the eighth, and surrendered a bases-loaded sacrifice fly which cut CMU's lead to 5-4. Bradley got the final out on a strikeout, stranding runners at second and third.
The Chippewas added two insurance runs in the ninth on a Cole RBI double and a Reed Adams suicide squeeze bunt.
Bradley allowed a single in the ninth, but got a strikeout and a grounder to end it for his eighth save. Bradley walked two and struck out two in his two innings of work. The lone blemish on Brettell's line was a walk. He went 3 2/3 innings, striking out two.
Kent State starter Zach Willeman (5-4) took the loss. He allowed five runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
The Chippewas jumped to a 3-0 first-inning lead on RBI singles by Jipping, Evan Kratt and Cole. Robinson singled in a run in the second to make it 4-0.
