Chippewas Ride 3-Run 8th Inning to Critical MAC Win and Series Victory Over Eastern Michigan

Sunday, May 11

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

19-32, 11-16

Eastern Michigan

19-26, 11-16

Eastern Michigan

Central Michigan

CMU starter Hayden Bailey delivers to the plate on Sunday in the Chippewas' 7-6 victory over Eastern Michigan at Theunissen Stadium.

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

Chippewas Ride 3-Run 8th Inning to Critical MAC Win and Series Victory Over Eastern Michigan

5/11/2025 5:10:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CMU tied for sixth place with Eastern, Western heading into final MAC series

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – One week to go, and the Central Michigan baseball team is still very much in the hunt for a Mid-American Conference Tournament berth.

CMU scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and reliever Cayden Smith shut the door in the ninth as the Chippewas posted a 7-6 victory over Eastern Michigan in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

The win lifted CMU to 19-32, 11-16 MAC. The Chippewas are tied for sixth place with EMU and Western Michigan. The top six make the league tourney.

CMU closes MAC play next week with a three-game series at Toledo, while Western plays Ohio and the Eagles play league-leading Kent State. CMU holds the tie-breaker over Eastern Michigan; Western holds the tie-breaker over the Chippewas.

"We tell our players, we tell our recruits, when you come to play here, you're going to play meaningful games down the stretch," second-year CMU coach Jake Sabol said. "Just trying to take one game at a time and make sure the guys realize there's still a great opportunity out there.

"I believe in the guys; they know the mission. We've just got to work hard at practice this week and go down to Toledo and play well."

Down 6-4, the Chippewas loaded the bases with none out in the eighth inning and then Cole Prout hit a sacrifice fly to bring CMU within a run at 6-5.

Cole Kwiatkowski then scored on a wild pitch to tie it, and then senior Elijah Henning followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home the go-ahead run.

Henning entered the game hitting .130 with two RBI. He entered as a defensive replacement at third base when Smith moved from shortstop to the mound in the eighth inning.

Henning's last RBI came on March 25 in a nonleague win over Grace Christian and Sabol had plenty of bats on the bench had he opted to pinch hit.

Instead, he stuck with Henning, who lifted a 2-1 pitch to left field, plenty deep to score Smith from third.

"Elijah Henning – just proud of him for that moment because he's a great teammate, a great leader; he does everything right and for him to come through there on Senior Day was a fun one," Sabol said. "Had a good feeling about it and he proved me right."

Smith (2-3), a freshman right-hander, hit a batter and issued a walk in the eighth, but escaped the jam with a fly ball to end the threat.

He then set down the Eagles in order in the ninth for the victory.

"We've seen that all year," Sabol said. "Sometimes it's gone his way and sometimes it hasn't, but he has the mentality of that back-end guy. He wants the ball. He was fired up to go lock it down. He was confident today."

CMU starter Hayden Bailey, a senior, allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out three and walked three as he again showed some late-season moxie after working his way back into the rotation and filling an important role after injuries to starters Evan Waters and A.J. Kostic.

"I think Bailey's kind of given us some life, especially with losing Waters and A.J.," Sabol said. "Just to have him come back in the fold and stay steady and give us a chance on the weekends has allowed us to stretch out some things and not rely on bullpen games here and there.

"It wasn't, from a box-score standpoint, maybe his best outing, they got to him a little bit before we took him out, but that's what we needed and we knew our offense was going to give us a chance."

Brady Krzciok had three hits to lead the Chippewas at the plate. EMU outhit the Chippewas, 10-8, but the CMU bats delivered when it most mattered.

It gave the Chippewas their first home MAC series win under Sabol and, most importantly, kept them squarely in the hunt for a tournament berth.

"One of the prouder moments I've had since I've been here just because of how it all played out," Sabol said. "I mean, they don't give up and I told them that (baseball) is the one game where you can control where the ending goes. You're going to play nine innings no matter what, and in every other sport there's a clock that's going to tell when the game's going to be over. We never said quit.

"They've been through some tough moments and some good ones – more tough moments than good; so to keep battling and not give away at-bats and go out there and understand the importance of those plays down the stretch was really important."