Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Michigan
Borglin Delivers; Chippewas Notch Walk-Off Win Vs. Michigan
5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Alex Borglin turned what could have been a here-we-go-again moment into a here-we-go moment.
Borglin lifted a double to the warning track in right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring home the tying and winning runs Wednesday, giving Central Michigan a dramatic 4-3 victory over Michigan in a nonconference baseball game at Theunissen Stadium.
The win came 24 hours after the Chippewas dropped a 4-2 decision to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, when CMU left five runners on base in their final two at-bats.
On Wednesday, CMU (26-22) left the bases loaded with the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, then saw the Wolverines score a run in the top of the ninth for a 3-2 lead.
"The resilience, we talk about it, we've talked about it all year," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "I know they really wanted to get the W because of (Tuesday), and we were right there.
"We left guys on base the last two games and we talked about it - we're going to get that hit. You've got to stay confident. We had our senior up there, and he put a heck of a good swing on it. You have to slow it down, you have to breathe, you have to stay in the moment. And that's what Borgie did."
The steady and consistent Borglin came to the plate with runners at second and third and two out in the ninth. He worked the count full against U-M's Austin Batka (0-1) in a lefty-lefty matchup.
After fouling off one 3-2 pitch, he launched a high fly to right field well over the head of the right fielder, and the only question was whether it would clear the fence. It landed at the warning track -- plenty of distance to score Reed Adams from third and David Cole - with the winning run - from second, touching off a mob celebration around Borglin near his defensive position, shortstop.
"I got all fastballs that at-bat," Borglin said. "You just stay calm, you breathe, and what happens happens. The biggest thing is just staying calm and not faltering from what I try to do. Just stay confident, stay calm and breathe a lot."
Colton Bradley (5-1), who came on to get the final out in the top of the ninth, picked up the victory. He was the fifth CMU pitcher on a staff day, when starter Dazon Cole was nearly flawless, holding the Wolverines hitless through the first three innings.
With Dazon Cole scheduled to start Sunday in a Mid-American Conference game at Toledo, the Chippewas limited their starter to a pitch count in the mid-30s.
"Dazon bounced back," Jaksa said. "He didn't have a great game his last outing and he bounced back. Those were three really, really good innings. We only took him out because he's throwing Sunday and we wanted him to get this work ... We've got bigger fish to fry in the conference. We want to keep that moving."
Cameron Brown, Braxton Markle and Jordan Grosjean also pitched in relief. Brown, who relieved Dazon Cole, allowed two runs on two hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Sophomore Daniel Robinson staked CMU to a 2-0 lead with his first career home run, a two-run shot in the first inning.
Michigan (36-12) got a run back in the fourth and tied it in the seventh on a Miles Lewis RBI groundout. The Wolverine took the lead in the ninth on a Nick Poirier two-out RBI double down the right-field line.
Adams was hit by a pitch leading off the ninth. With the hit-and-run on, David Cole bounced a single through the hole at shortstop and both Adams and Cole moved into scoring position on a Zach Gilles groundout.
That brought to the plate Borglin, the Chippewa leadoff hitter who had two of CMU's six hits.
"I just wanted to do it for my teammates," Borglin said. "Everyone played great today. We pitched it really well, played really good defense.
"We wanted to win that game from the first pitch. And in some way, I knew we were going to win that game. I had no idea I was going to be the hero. Just worked out that way."
The Chippewas open a three-game MAC series at Toledo on Friday (3 p.m.). CMU leads the MAC West by 2 ½ games and trails Kent State by two games for the overall league lead.
"Hopefully it gives a big boost in the conference this weekend with Toledo," Borglin said. "We've just got to keep playing the way we are. We pitched it really good the last two days and played really good defense and that's going to keep us in any game."
