Tuesday, April 16
Grand Rapids, MI
5:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
26-10
10
at
5
Cornerstone
14-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Michigan
1
0
0
1
0
0
2
1
5
10
11
0
Cornerstone
1
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
10
1
PC: Paige Clark, CU Athletics
Freshman Navarra Delivers At The Plate
4/16/2019 9:42:00 PM | Baseball
Chippewas rally from 5-1 deficit for 10-5 nonconference victory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Garrett Navarra, the starting pitcher, was long gone by the time the game was decided.
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Garrett Navarra, the hitter, was the man of the moment in the ninth inning.
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Navarra's two-run double with one out in the ninth broke a 5-5 tie as the Central Michigan baseball team went on to a 10-5 nonconference victory over Cornerstone at the Golden Eagles' De Witt Field on Tuesday.
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Navarra, a freshman left-hander, went 2 2/3 innings in just the second start and 12th mound appearance of his brief Chippewa career. After leaving with two out in the third inning, he remained in the game as the designated hitter.
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"(Navarra) has prepared and improved as a hitter all year and I felt he deserved an opportunity with some guys out today," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "He did a great job taking advantage of his opportunity and trusting his preparation.
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"Garrett is going to be a tremendous player in our program. Cornerstone deserves a lot of credit for really having a good plan against Navarra. He didn't pitch as poorly as his numbers showed today."
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Navarra did not have a hit in three at-bats coming into Tuesday's game. He singled in the fourth for his first hit as a Chippewa, and then walked and scored the game-tying run in the eighth.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CMU trailed 5-1 after two innings. All five runs were charged to Navarra, who surrendered eight hits, walked one and struck out four.
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The Chippewas drew to 5-2 on a Blake Cleveland sacrifice fly in the fourth, and then pulled to 5-4 in the seventh on RBI singles by Zavier Warren and Jason Sullivan. CMU tied it 5-5 in the eighth when Zach Heeke drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Navarra.
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CMU loaded the bases in the ninth on two walks and a Sullivan single, his third hit of the game, and then Navarra doubled to left on a 2-2 pitch to put the Chippewas in front for good. CMU added two more runs on groundouts and then Cleveland scored on a passed ball.
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"I was very pleased with how we played today," Bischel said. "Cornerstone's pitching did a great job of commanding the bottom of the strike zone most of the game. I was happy to see we continued to compete for all nine innings."
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AT THE PLATE
The Chippewas collected 11 hits off seven Cornerstone pitchers.
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CMU finished with seven stolen bases, its second-highest total of the season. The Chippewas swiped 11 in a 9-1 victory over Villanova on March 9. Sullivan led the Chippewas with three thefts.
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ON THE MOUND
Grant Frazer, Jack Collins, Logan Buczkowski and Jordan Patty followed Navarra to the mound for the Chippewas. They combined to hold Cornerstone to two hits while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings.
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Buczkowski (2-0) earned the win.
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NEXT
CMU goes to Toledo for a three-game Mid-American Conference series beginning on Friday (3 p.m.). The Chippewas are 8-4 and sit in third place in the league. Toledo is 12-22 overall and 2-9 (last) in the conference.
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Garrett Navarra, the hitter, was the man of the moment in the ninth inning.
Â
Navarra's two-run double with one out in the ninth broke a 5-5 tie as the Central Michigan baseball team went on to a 10-5 nonconference victory over Cornerstone at the Golden Eagles' De Witt Field on Tuesday.
Â
Navarra, a freshman left-hander, went 2 2/3 innings in just the second start and 12th mound appearance of his brief Chippewa career. After leaving with two out in the third inning, he remained in the game as the designated hitter.
Â
"(Navarra) has prepared and improved as a hitter all year and I felt he deserved an opportunity with some guys out today," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "He did a great job taking advantage of his opportunity and trusting his preparation.
Â
"Garrett is going to be a tremendous player in our program. Cornerstone deserves a lot of credit for really having a good plan against Navarra. He didn't pitch as poorly as his numbers showed today."
Â
Navarra did not have a hit in three at-bats coming into Tuesday's game. He singled in the fourth for his first hit as a Chippewa, and then walked and scored the game-tying run in the eighth.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
CMU trailed 5-1 after two innings. All five runs were charged to Navarra, who surrendered eight hits, walked one and struck out four.
Â
The Chippewas drew to 5-2 on a Blake Cleveland sacrifice fly in the fourth, and then pulled to 5-4 in the seventh on RBI singles by Zavier Warren and Jason Sullivan. CMU tied it 5-5 in the eighth when Zach Heeke drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Navarra.
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CMU loaded the bases in the ninth on two walks and a Sullivan single, his third hit of the game, and then Navarra doubled to left on a 2-2 pitch to put the Chippewas in front for good. CMU added two more runs on groundouts and then Cleveland scored on a passed ball.
Â
"I was very pleased with how we played today," Bischel said. "Cornerstone's pitching did a great job of commanding the bottom of the strike zone most of the game. I was happy to see we continued to compete for all nine innings."
Â
AT THE PLATE
The Chippewas collected 11 hits off seven Cornerstone pitchers.
Â
CMU finished with seven stolen bases, its second-highest total of the season. The Chippewas swiped 11 in a 9-1 victory over Villanova on March 9. Sullivan led the Chippewas with three thefts.
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ON THE MOUND
Grant Frazer, Jack Collins, Logan Buczkowski and Jordan Patty followed Navarra to the mound for the Chippewas. They combined to hold Cornerstone to two hits while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings.
Â
Buczkowski (2-0) earned the win.
Â
NEXT
CMU goes to Toledo for a three-game Mid-American Conference series beginning on Friday (3 p.m.). The Chippewas are 8-4 and sit in third place in the league. Toledo is 12-22 overall and 2-9 (last) in the conference.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Buczkowski, Logan (2-0)
L: Daniel Abbgy (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Navarra, Garrett 1
RBI: Heeke, Zach 1 ; Warren, Zavier 1 ; Sullivan, Jason 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 2 ; Cleveland, Blake 2 ; Cole, David 1
SF: Cleveland, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gilles, Zach 2 ; Sullivan, Jason 1 ; Williams, Gaoshua 2 ; Navarra, Garrett 2 ; Cleveland, Blake 2 ; Cole, David 1
SB: Heeke, Zach 1 ; Warren, Zavier 1 ; Gilles, Zach 2 ; Sullivan, Jason 3
HBP: Williams, Gaoshua 1
Batting:
2B: Jarod Burton 1
RBI: Aaron Krupansky 1 ; Jarod Burton 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Aaron Krupansky 2 ; Trenton Gilman 1 ; Austin Hurt 1 ; Cain Ruiz 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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INF
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RHP/INF
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