Saturday, June 1
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
47-13
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No.1 Mississippi State
48-13
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Mississippi State
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Central Michigan
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Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Chippewas Fall To Mississippi State
6/2/2019 1:42:00 AM | Baseball
CMU faces Miami in elimination game on Sunday
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Central Michigan baseball team is alive in the NCAA Tournament.
But the hill to climb became much steeper on Saturday.
Mississippi State scored four runs on seven hits in the first inning and led 6-0 after three as it handed the Chippewas a 7-2 loss in the regional before 11,511 at the Bulldogs' Dudy Noble Field.
The loss ended CMU's win streak at 19 games and it sends the Chippewas to an elimination game on Sunday (3 p.m.) against Miami (Fla.). The winner faces Mississippi State in the championship game on Sunday at 9 p.m. A second title game, made necessary if Mississippi State loses the Sunday night game, is scheduled for Monday (7 p.m.).
CMU (47-13) opened the tournament on Friday with a 6-5 victory over Miami (39-19) and will have to win three consecutive games to capture the first regional title in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mississippi State (48-13), the No. 1 seed in the regional, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, and the fifth-ranked team in the country, batted around in seizing a 4-0 first-inning lead. The Bulldogs added two more in the third, chasing CMU starter Cam Brown who entered the game undefeated.
"You really have to tip your cap to Mississippi State's hitters," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "If you were sitting in this spot, to see the pitches he was making, it is not like he was throwing the ball down the middle. He made them earn every hit. They went out and got every one of them. It was an impressive display of hitting."
The 6-0 deficit proved too much for third-seeded CMU to overcome, though the Chippewas had their chances.
Jason Sullivan hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2, and the Chippewas put two more runners on only to strand them when Evan Kratt grounded out to end the inning.
CMU loaded the bases in the seventh before Griffin Lockwood-Powell grounded into an inning-ending double play.
"Really, the culture of our dugout and our program is that you are not going to sit there and worry about the scoreboard," Bischel said. "You would rather be ahead 6-0 than down 6-0, but I think you saw that it did not change how we played. That is what we are really all about. It is hard to come back against an All-American pitcher, but we competed.
"I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. Griff was up there in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. The guy has 11 home runs and 74 RBI; you take your chances there."
TOUGH PITCHING
Mississippi State starter Ethan Small (9-2) lived up to his billing as the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year in going six innings for the victory. The left-hander, a National Pitcher of the Year finalist, struck out 10 and surrendered five hits, including Sullivan's homer.
AT THE PLATE
Sullivan and Zach Gilles finished with two hits apiece for CMU.
ON THE MOUND
Brown (10-1), a junior right-hander, surrendered six runs on 13 hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Grant Frazer, Logan Buczkowski and Cam Miller pitched effectively in relief, combining to allow just three hits while striking out six.
"(Buczkowski) has not pitched in big situations in some time for us," Bischel said. "He came out tonight, and that was as good a pitcher as he has probably been this year. I am really proud of him, but (it's) not a moral victory for us. We want to win, but I am proud that we played the game the way we always play it. Tonight, Mississippi State was better than we were."
SUNDAY
Miami, the No. 2 seed, remained alive with a 12-2 victory over Southern in an elimination game on Saturday.
Sophomore right-hander Jordan Patty will start for the Chippewas against Brian Van Belle, a junior right-hander. Patty is 4-2 with a 2.53 earned run average; Van Belle is 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA.
BISCHEL
"This is a pretty cool environment, right? We have to enjoy that and embrace that. To sit there and go in a shell just because you are down, what is the point in that? This is fun for these guys. It is great that we have so many reporters here and 11,000 fans, but it is kids playing a game. One team always loses at these games. If you only enjoy it when you win, it is going to be miserable for half the people out there.
"I hope our guys embraced it and enjoyed it. We are competitive and we wanted to win, certainly. I am sure they will remember this for a long time, and I am sure we are motivated to try to put ourselves in this atmosphere tomorrow night. It is going to tough. Obviously, Miami is awfully good. They are going to be prepared to play. It will be tough, but that is the goal, that we will be back and play again tomorrow night."
But the hill to climb became much steeper on Saturday.
Mississippi State scored four runs on seven hits in the first inning and led 6-0 after three as it handed the Chippewas a 7-2 loss in the regional before 11,511 at the Bulldogs' Dudy Noble Field.
The loss ended CMU's win streak at 19 games and it sends the Chippewas to an elimination game on Sunday (3 p.m.) against Miami (Fla.). The winner faces Mississippi State in the championship game on Sunday at 9 p.m. A second title game, made necessary if Mississippi State loses the Sunday night game, is scheduled for Monday (7 p.m.).
CMU (47-13) opened the tournament on Friday with a 6-5 victory over Miami (39-19) and will have to win three consecutive games to capture the first regional title in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mississippi State (48-13), the No. 1 seed in the regional, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, and the fifth-ranked team in the country, batted around in seizing a 4-0 first-inning lead. The Bulldogs added two more in the third, chasing CMU starter Cam Brown who entered the game undefeated.
"You really have to tip your cap to Mississippi State's hitters," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "If you were sitting in this spot, to see the pitches he was making, it is not like he was throwing the ball down the middle. He made them earn every hit. They went out and got every one of them. It was an impressive display of hitting."
The 6-0 deficit proved too much for third-seeded CMU to overcome, though the Chippewas had their chances.
Jason Sullivan hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2, and the Chippewas put two more runners on only to strand them when Evan Kratt grounded out to end the inning.
CMU loaded the bases in the seventh before Griffin Lockwood-Powell grounded into an inning-ending double play.
"Really, the culture of our dugout and our program is that you are not going to sit there and worry about the scoreboard," Bischel said. "You would rather be ahead 6-0 than down 6-0, but I think you saw that it did not change how we played. That is what we are really all about. It is hard to come back against an All-American pitcher, but we competed.
"I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. Griff was up there in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. The guy has 11 home runs and 74 RBI; you take your chances there."
TOUGH PITCHING
Mississippi State starter Ethan Small (9-2) lived up to his billing as the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year in going six innings for the victory. The left-hander, a National Pitcher of the Year finalist, struck out 10 and surrendered five hits, including Sullivan's homer.
AT THE PLATE
Sullivan and Zach Gilles finished with two hits apiece for CMU.
ON THE MOUND
Brown (10-1), a junior right-hander, surrendered six runs on 13 hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Grant Frazer, Logan Buczkowski and Cam Miller pitched effectively in relief, combining to allow just three hits while striking out six.
"(Buczkowski) has not pitched in big situations in some time for us," Bischel said. "He came out tonight, and that was as good a pitcher as he has probably been this year. I am really proud of him, but (it's) not a moral victory for us. We want to win, but I am proud that we played the game the way we always play it. Tonight, Mississippi State was better than we were."
SUNDAY
Miami, the No. 2 seed, remained alive with a 12-2 victory over Southern in an elimination game on Saturday.
Sophomore right-hander Jordan Patty will start for the Chippewas against Brian Van Belle, a junior right-hander. Patty is 4-2 with a 2.53 earned run average; Van Belle is 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA.
BISCHEL
"This is a pretty cool environment, right? We have to enjoy that and embrace that. To sit there and go in a shell just because you are down, what is the point in that? This is fun for these guys. It is great that we have so many reporters here and 11,000 fans, but it is kids playing a game. One team always loses at these games. If you only enjoy it when you win, it is going to be miserable for half the people out there.
"I hope our guys embraced it and enjoyed it. We are competitive and we wanted to win, certainly. I am sure they will remember this for a long time, and I am sure we are motivated to try to put ourselves in this atmosphere tomorrow night. It is going to tough. Obviously, Miami is awfully good. They are going to be prepared to play. It will be tough, but that is the goal, that we will be back and play again tomorrow night."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Small (9-2)
L: Brown, Cameron (10-1)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: MacNamee 1 ; Hatcher 1
HR: Allen 1
RBI: Allen 1 ; MacNamee 2 ; Jordan, R. 2 ; Hatcher 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Westburg 1 ; Allen 2 ; Foscue 2 ; Skelton 2
SB: Hatcher 1
Batting:
HR: Sullivan, Jason 1
RBI: Sullivan, Jason 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Warren, Zavier 1 ; Sullivan, Jason 1
HBP: Warren, Zavier 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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INF
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RHP/INF
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