Sunday, April 11
Mount Pleasant, MI
3 P.M.
Central Michigan University
17-9, 0
13
vs
4
Bowling Green
9-17, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
11
3
Central Michigan
0
4
8
1
0
0
0
0
X
13
9
1
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Sunday Best: Baseball Wins Series With Doubleheader Sweep
4/11/2021 9:01:00 PM | Baseball
Chippewas have won 9 of last 10, sit in second place in MAC
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Solo or by committee, Central Michigan pitching continues to get it done.
Timely hitting helps too.
The Central Michigan baseball team got a complete game from Cameron Brown in the opener and then used six pitchers in the nightcap in sweeping a Mid-American Conference doubleheader from Bowling Green, 5-1 and 13-4, on Sunday at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas took the final three games of the four-game set from the Falcons, improving to 17-9, 9-3 MAC. CMU is in second place in the MAC, one game behind Ball State, which is 10-2 in league play.
CMU pitching allowed just eight runs while recording 31 strikeouts against nine walks in the series. The Chippewas committed just one error in the four games.
"We played really good defense behind those guys and made some nice catches in the outfield (and) picked it up in the infield," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "Certainly, the pitching staff is where it starts, but really it's been a collective effort behind those guys too. It's easier to play good defense when you have (pitchers) attacking the strike zone and getting the ball in play. Really it goes hand in hand. Certainly, all four games this weekend the pitchers gave us a great chance to win."
Mario Camilletti hit a two-run homer in the opener and had two hits and drove in four runs in the nightcap to lead the Chippewas, who have won nine of their last 10 starts. It was the first homer in a Chippewa uniform for Camilletti, a junior transfer from Oakland. He had five hits and drove in six runs in 12 at-bats in the series.
After starting the season with just two hits in 27 at-bats, Camilletti his hitting .403 in his last 18 games.
"Those first couple of weeks he was still helping us win games," Bischel said. "He was playing good defense, he was still getting on base, he was taking his walks, getting hit by pitches, getting sacrifice flies – you just knew at some point he was going to start squaring the baseball up.
"We had a high, high level of confidence that at some point, the 0-for-3 games were going to turn into 2-for-3 and 3-for-3 games and obviously that's started to happen and that's been fun to watch because he puts in the time to prepare. He just loves to play. Those guys are awesome to have around."
Brown (4-0) was superb in the seven-inning opener, striking out seven and walking four in surrendering just two hits in going the distance. He allowed a second-inning single and a third-inning double and was never in serious trouble until the seventh, when the Falcons used a hit batsman and two walks to load the bases and then scored their only run on a wild pitch.
Sticking with Brown in such a situation, despite plenty of well-rested arms in the bullpen, "I think that shows how we feel about Cam," Bischel said. "On a weekend where we had not used a single arm out of the bullpen (to that point), when he put three guys on in the seventh, we stuck with him, really believed he could finish and put it away. He was tremendous.
"The seventh was the only inning he really struggled. He was really in command of the game. He hasn't had a perfect season, but he's certainly had a good one and competed for us and given us a lot of opportunities to win. It feels like he's won almost every game he's started."
The Chippewas staked the senior right-hander to a 4-0 lead after two innings, getting an RBI double from Chase Rollin and a sacrifice fly from Garrett Navarra in the first inning, and a two-run homer from Camilletti in the second. CMU's final run came on an Aidan Shepardson sacrifice fly in the fifth.
The Chippewas broke a 4-4 tie with an eight-run third inning in the nightcap. CMU sent 13 men to the plate in the inning and took advantage of three walks, two hit batsmen, two infield hits, and a Bowling Green error. Camilletti delivered the big blow, a one-out, two-run double that made it 8-4.
The Chippewas used six pitchers, beginning with the left-handed Navarra who allowed four runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings. Grant Frazer, Logan Buczkowski, Ian Leatherman, Ryan Palmblad and Ben Vitas followed Navarra to the mound. The bullpen combined to surrender six hits while striking out six over 6 1/3 frames.
Frazer (1-2), who went 2 1/3 innings, earned the win.
Buczkowski pitched one inning, the sixth, and the Falcons got a leadoff infield single then a Chippewa error put runners at first and second. Buczkowski, a hard-throwing right-hander, got two called strikeouts and a grounder. He has struck out nine, walked three and allowed one run on five hits over six innings in seven appearances this season.
"Buczkowski, he's been fun to watch," Bischel said. "He's pitched every weekend and he's pounded the strike zone and gotten after hitters. He's been really good, and I was pretty impressed by him; they got those two (on) right away and he just pitched right through it."
Timely hitting helps too.
The Central Michigan baseball team got a complete game from Cameron Brown in the opener and then used six pitchers in the nightcap in sweeping a Mid-American Conference doubleheader from Bowling Green, 5-1 and 13-4, on Sunday at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas took the final three games of the four-game set from the Falcons, improving to 17-9, 9-3 MAC. CMU is in second place in the MAC, one game behind Ball State, which is 10-2 in league play.
CMU pitching allowed just eight runs while recording 31 strikeouts against nine walks in the series. The Chippewas committed just one error in the four games.
"We played really good defense behind those guys and made some nice catches in the outfield (and) picked it up in the infield," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "Certainly, the pitching staff is where it starts, but really it's been a collective effort behind those guys too. It's easier to play good defense when you have (pitchers) attacking the strike zone and getting the ball in play. Really it goes hand in hand. Certainly, all four games this weekend the pitchers gave us a great chance to win."
Mario Camilletti hit a two-run homer in the opener and had two hits and drove in four runs in the nightcap to lead the Chippewas, who have won nine of their last 10 starts. It was the first homer in a Chippewa uniform for Camilletti, a junior transfer from Oakland. He had five hits and drove in six runs in 12 at-bats in the series.
After starting the season with just two hits in 27 at-bats, Camilletti his hitting .403 in his last 18 games.
"Those first couple of weeks he was still helping us win games," Bischel said. "He was playing good defense, he was still getting on base, he was taking his walks, getting hit by pitches, getting sacrifice flies – you just knew at some point he was going to start squaring the baseball up.
"We had a high, high level of confidence that at some point, the 0-for-3 games were going to turn into 2-for-3 and 3-for-3 games and obviously that's started to happen and that's been fun to watch because he puts in the time to prepare. He just loves to play. Those guys are awesome to have around."
Brown (4-0) was superb in the seven-inning opener, striking out seven and walking four in surrendering just two hits in going the distance. He allowed a second-inning single and a third-inning double and was never in serious trouble until the seventh, when the Falcons used a hit batsman and two walks to load the bases and then scored their only run on a wild pitch.
Sticking with Brown in such a situation, despite plenty of well-rested arms in the bullpen, "I think that shows how we feel about Cam," Bischel said. "On a weekend where we had not used a single arm out of the bullpen (to that point), when he put three guys on in the seventh, we stuck with him, really believed he could finish and put it away. He was tremendous.
"The seventh was the only inning he really struggled. He was really in command of the game. He hasn't had a perfect season, but he's certainly had a good one and competed for us and given us a lot of opportunities to win. It feels like he's won almost every game he's started."
The Chippewas staked the senior right-hander to a 4-0 lead after two innings, getting an RBI double from Chase Rollin and a sacrifice fly from Garrett Navarra in the first inning, and a two-run homer from Camilletti in the second. CMU's final run came on an Aidan Shepardson sacrifice fly in the fifth.
The Chippewas broke a 4-4 tie with an eight-run third inning in the nightcap. CMU sent 13 men to the plate in the inning and took advantage of three walks, two hit batsmen, two infield hits, and a Bowling Green error. Camilletti delivered the big blow, a one-out, two-run double that made it 8-4.
The Chippewas used six pitchers, beginning with the left-handed Navarra who allowed four runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings. Grant Frazer, Logan Buczkowski, Ian Leatherman, Ryan Palmblad and Ben Vitas followed Navarra to the mound. The bullpen combined to surrender six hits while striking out six over 6 1/3 frames.
Frazer (1-2), who went 2 1/3 innings, earned the win.
Buczkowski pitched one inning, the sixth, and the Falcons got a leadoff infield single then a Chippewa error put runners at first and second. Buczkowski, a hard-throwing right-hander, got two called strikeouts and a grounder. He has struck out nine, walked three and allowed one run on five hits over six innings in seven appearances this season.
"Buczkowski, he's been fun to watch," Bischel said. "He's pitched every weekend and he's pounded the strike zone and gotten after hitters. He's been really good, and I was pretty impressed by him; they got those two (on) right away and he just pitched right through it."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Frazer, Grant (1-0)
L: SPEZIA (0-4)
Batting:
HR: GURNEY 1
RBI: GURNEY 1 ; KRAUSE 1 ; RYAN, Anthon 1 ; JOHNSON 1
SH: KRAUSE 1
SF: JOHNSON 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GURNEY 1 ; FURNAS 1 ; ROSE, Nathan 2
Batting:
2B: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 1
RBI: Camilletti, Mario 4 ; Marsee, Jakob 1 ; Gilles, Zach 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 1 ; Heeke, Zach 1 ; Dardas, Nick 2 ; Simpson, Justin 1
SF: Camilletti, Mario 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Marsee, Jakob 1 ; Gilles, Zach 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 1 ; Rollin, Chase 1 ; Heeke, Zach 2 ; Lechnir, Zach 3 ; Dardas, Nick 2 ; Simpson, Justin 1
SB: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Rollin, Chase 1 ; Lechnir, Zach 1 ; Dardas, Nick 1 ; Simpson, Justin 1
HBP: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Rollin, Chase 1 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1 ; Dardas, Nick 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballLHP/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
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