Baseball Drops Series Finale; Maintains Hold On First Place In MAC

Sunday, April 18

Mount Pleasant, MI

1 P.M.

Central Michigan University

20-11, 12-4

Kent State

14-17, 7-9

Kent State

Central Michigan

Photo by: Emma Hug

Baseball Drops Series Finale; Maintains Hold On First Place In MAC

4/18/2021 5:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Kent State played Central Michigan's game on Sunday and it worked to the detriment of the Chippewas.

The Golden Flashes took advantage of walks and a critical CMU error in topping the Chippewas, 6-4, in the finale of a four-game Mid-American Conference baseball series at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

The loss spoiled the Chippewas' bid for a series sweep. CMU is 20-11, 12-4 MAC. They are tied for first place in the league with Ball State and are scheduled to go to Akron next weekend for a four-game league series.

"I thought we played hard, I thought we played with energy, we just didn't play well," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "And you've got to give credit to Kent State. They did what they had to do, and they pitched well."

CMU pitching issued six walks, a season high for the Chippewas in a league game. Two of those walks came with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and forced in the go-ahead run and an insurance run as Kent State broke a 4-4 tie. The Golden Flashes' leadoff man reached on an error and eventually scored the go-ahead run.

Grant Frazer, the third of four Chippewa pitchers, took the loss. Garrett Navarra started and went three innings before giving way to Logan Buczkowski. Ian Leatherman relieved Frazer in the eighth inning with runners on the corners and issued back-to-back walks, forcing in the first run of the inning. After getting a strikeout and a pop out, Leatherman issued his third walk of the inning to force in another run.

"We gave them several opportunities," Bischel said. "We had a double-play ball in the third inning and we threw it into left field; then they had a bunt that we didn't get an out on two innings later and they turned that into two runs.

"Those are guys that have always made those plays for us and I think the next time that they're in those situations they will. I think (Leatherman) had three walks all year and he had three walks today. He was prepared, he just didn't pitch well today. That's a part of growing up, that's part of baseball, part of life; things don't always go your way."

CMU's four pitchers combined to strike out 11; six of those came from Navarra.

Zach Heeke had three hits and drove in a run to lead CMU at the plate. Heeke, who has hit safely in seven-consecutive games, completed an outstanding series as he went 9-for-13 and hit his second-career home run.

"He has been just a tremendous Chippewa all the way throughout with the bloodlines there," Bischel said of Heeke, whose father Dave is the former CMU athletics director and his brother Ryan, was a four-year baseball letter winner. "He takes pride in our program and loves our program. He's an awfully good hitter and an awfully good player and it's fun watching him compete."

The Chippewas scored two runs in the first inning on a Chase Rollin sacrifice fly and a Heeke RBI single. Down 4-2 in the seventh, the Chippewas scored two to tie it. Zach Lechnir singled to lead off the inning and the Chippewas drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Lechnir scored on a wild pitch and then CMU tied it on a Zach Gilles RBI groundout.