Baseball Delivers in the Clutch to Take Series Finale

Sunday, April 2

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

2 p.m.

Central Michigan University

14-12, 5-4

Bowling Green

11-14, 6-6

BGSU

Central Michigan

Christian Mitchelle cruises into third base during CMU's eighth-inning rally on Sunday in a 4-3 win at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

4/2/2023 6:15:00 PM | Baseball

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Morgan, Sefcik drive in eighth-inning runs and the bullpen slams the door in 4-3 victory

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Robby Morgan IV came through in the clutch, and the Central Michigan baseball team picked up a victory it sorely needed.

Morgan's RBI single in the eighth inning put the Chippewas in front for good on Sunday as CMU defeated Bowling Green, 4-3, in the nail-biting finale of a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

The Chippewas (14-12, 5-4 MAC) avoided the series sweep and snapped a three-game losing streak.

"We've never really talked about winning series or sweeping, it's just play the best you can every game," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "We're struggling offensively; it doesn't take a genius to see that, but we stuck together, we found a way to grind one out.

"I'm proud of the guys for just sticking behind each other and continuing to fight, win or lose. Our guys aren't going to quit."

Nor should they as the defending MAC Tournament champions near the midway point of the season. The Chippewas play midweek nonleaguers this week at Oakland (Tuesday) and at home against Concordia (Wednesday) before heading next weekend to Northern Illinois for a three-game MAC series.

They can take away a measure of momentum in rebounding from Saturday's difficult-to-swallow 3-2 loss to the Falcons when they surrendered two unearned runs in the ninth inning.

On Sunday, it was the Chippewas' turn for late-game dramatics as Justin Simpson led off the eighth with a triple to right center on a two-strike pitch.

Christian Mitchelle was hit by a pitch with one out, putting runners at first and third and then Bischel sent Drew Stengren to the plate to pinch hit.

Stengren, in his first at-bat after missing six weeks with an injury, was to attempt a safety squeeze. But when Stengren took the first pitch for a strike, Bischel summoned Morgan in a rare double-pinch hit move.

After Mitchelle stole second, Morgan chopped the second pitch he saw through the hole between short and third to score Simpson and give the Chippewas a 3-2 lead.

Morgan, a season-long key cog in CMU's lineup, left Saturday's game with an injury and did not start on Sunday.

"(Morgan) was begging me to be in the lineup today and I wanted to play it a little bit on the side of caution," Bischel said, "but when the game was tight late, we had to use that bat because he's awfully talented."

Said Morgan: "It was a little weird situation; came up there with one strike. It was like, whatever. I'm out here playing baseball, doing what I love. Let's get the job done, be tough.

"Of course I'm going to say I'm glad I'm the one who got the job done, but if any other guy would have got the job done I would have been just as happy. Happy that we got the win as a team."

Luke Sefcik then laid down a suicide squeeze to score Mitchelle from third with an all-important insurance run and make it 4-2.

Mitchelle (1-0) earned his first career victory in relief of Garrett Navarra.

A freshman right-hander who was already in the lineup at third base, Mitchelle went to the mound in the eighth inning and set down the Falcons in order in just his fourth pitching appearance of the season.

He then allowed two hits and a run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth before left-hander Ryan Palmblad came on to get the final for his fourth save.

"A kid who's not pitched in a really key spot all year comes in and he's just lights out for a couple innings there," Bischel said of Mitchelle. "He's already turning into a special player and watching him play is an awful lot of fun."

Palmblad took the hard-luck loss in Saturday's game, but Bischel had no qualms about handing the ball to the veteran in the pressure-packed ninth with the game on the line.

"Your leadoff hitter goes 0h-for-five, you don't move him to the nine hole or take him out of the lineup, you put him back out there," Bischel said. "And the same with (Palmblad).

"He didn't feel great today; I knew he wasn't going to have a lot of hitters in him, but when we had a chance to button it up and we had a good matchup I had no doubt he could get it done."

Navarra, a graduate student left-hander, was again outstanding, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven over seven innings.

"Garrett did exactly what we needed him to do, which was not give up a big inning and attack the strike zone," Bischel said. "We couldn't afford (to surrender) a three- or four-run inning today with our offense struggling and the wind blowing in, and he did a great job."