Big Day for the Bats, Big Rebound for Baseball

Saturday, March 21

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

10-10, 6-2

Toledo

8-11, 2-6

Toledo

Central Michigan

Photo by: Addison Glascock '29 - @addisonglasphotography

3/21/2026 6:31:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Harrison Bowman ends it with eighth-inning walk-off grand slam in 18-7 run-rule victory; Bowman's 9 RBI ties for second most in program history

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Oh what a difference a day can make in baseball.

Jake Sabol adjusted his lineup and it worked as well as anybody could have envisioned.

The Chippewas pounded out a season-high 21 hits on Saturday in rolling to an 18-7 victory over Toledo in game 2 of a three-game Mid-American Conference series on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

The 18 runs tied a season high as CMU snapped a four-game losing streak in notching its first home win of the season, improving to 8-11, 2-6 MAC. The Rockets are 10-10, 6-2.

The teams play the rubber match on Sunday (1 p.m.).

The Chippewas bounced back from a 10-1 loss in Friday's series opener, in which they finished with just five hits, all singles. Seven of their 21 hits on Saturday went for extra bases.

"(Friday) I think we left some things on the table and we kind of challenged them to be better today," said Sabol, CMU's third-year coach. "As soon as we left the clubhouse (Friday), I wanted it to bother them a little bit and then it's on to the next day. This is a game where we get a chance to play more often than everybody else. It's not football where we've got six days in between and we can dwell on things we did well or we did poorly.

"We have no choice but to rebound and be ready for (the next game). I told them enjoy the heck out of this one and we've got a chance to win a series tomorrow and right now that's all that matters."

Sabol moved Bryson Webb to the leadoff spot, Harrison Bowman to No. 2, and Logan Keilen to cleanup in an effort to pump some life into the Chippewa bats. It marked the first time this season that any of those three batted in their respective spots.

All three delivered – as did the rest of their teammates.

It was Bowman who shined brightest with four hits and nine RBI, tying for the second-highest total in CMU baseball history. Scott Pieratt had 10 RBI for CMU in a 1999 game against Grand Valley State, and Greg Lotzar had nine in a 1985 game against Florida Southern.

Bowman ended the game with a one-out grand slam in the eighth inning, giving the Chippewas an 11-run lead which invoked the 10-run rule.

It was the team-leading seventh-homer of the season for Bowman, a junior outfielder in his first season at CMU after transferring from Troy. He has hit safely in 18 of the Chippewas' 19 games this season.

"You need threats in your lineup," Sabol said. "You need guys who can do it and believe that they can do it and carry themselves the way that they're supposed to. That's who he is. He takes his craft very seriously, he wants to be good, he makes great adjustments and he comes up in the clutch.

"He's been really good for us so far and there's probably nobody else right now that we'd rather have up there in big-time moments."

Webb led off the game with a triple. He reached base five times in six plate appearances and scored five runs, one shy of the program record, and the most by a Chippewa in a game this season.

The senior is hitting .370, highest among CMU regulars. He began the season as a part-timer but has played his way into an everyday player and stepped up as the third baseman when Greg Guzik II went down with a season-ending injury.

"Bryson's been a sparkplug for us, just outstanding this year," Sabol said. "He was on the bench the first five, six, seven games of the year and waited for his opportunity and I don't even think twice about penciling him in now. He's been great."

The Chippewas got a solid start from right-hander Tyson Potts (1-2), who allowed four runs on five hits, walked two and struck out two. The transfer from Wayland (Texas) Baptist began the season in the bullpen but has pitched relatively well in all six of his appearances and has answered the call.

"He has just forced us to run him out there," Sabol said. "He was a three-year starter where he was before, and he took a chance to come in here.

"He didn't have a great fall and it set him back a little bit. He did nothing but get big outs and fill up the zone and then when things got shaky in the rotation and we lost (starer) Cayden (Smith) we decided to bump him.

"He has experience and he was really good where he was before and you're starting to see it. He's just stacking good outings. He's not perfect by any means, but it's been good enough to get the job done for us and keep us in the game."

Potts pitched out of a first-inning jam, stranding two runners in scoring position by getting two groundouts and a strikeout. He left with an 8-2 lead after hitting the first two batters in the seventh inning.

Both of those runners eventually scored during a four-run Toledo seventh that cut CMU's lead to 8-6.

CMU answered in the bottom of the frame with five runs on four hits. Bowman's three-run double was the big blow as the Chippewas re-upped their lead to 13-6.

That CMU answered when the cart wobbled a bit in the top of the seventh was encouraging, particularly in the light of the fact that several times this season, the Chippewas have been unable to hold a late lead.

"It's very impressive because the way things have gone, it could have been very easy for us to say, 'Poor us, it's about to happen again,'" Sabol said. "But the offense has never really done that this year. They've kept their foot on the gas as much as they can; they've put us in position late in games to win because they extend innings and extend leads.

"I just told told (our players), 'Hey you guys have a chance to rewrite the narrative around this team if we do what we're supposed to do, stay locked in for all nine (innings), believe we can do it, and go extend some leads' and they did it.

"We've just got to figure out a way to get them to do it tomorrow and the next day and the next day."

Baseball Drops Series and Home Opener to Toledo

Friday, March 20

Baseball Welcomes Toledo for Home-Opening Series

Thursday, March 19

Baseball Champions & Alumni Day Set for May 9

Thursday, March 19

Baseball Drops Series Finale at Kent State

Sunday, March 15

Next Event

Toledo

Mar 22 (Sun)

1 p.m.

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Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Potts, Tyson (1-2)

L: Deron Swanson (2-3)

Toledo

Batting:

2B: Cade Baker 1 ; Troy Sudbrook 1 ; Carson McCaleb 1

RBI: Cade Baker 1 ; Charlie Scholvin 1 ; Troy Sudbrook 1 ; Alex McCranie 2 ; Luke Walton 1

SF: Alex McCranie 1 ; Luke Walton 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Cade Baker 2 ; Charlie Scholvin 1 ; Troy Sudbrook 1 ; Jackson Hiatt 1 ; Carson McCaleb 1 ; Ryan Sudbrook 1

HBP: Cade Baker 1 ; Charlie Scholvin 1 ; Jacob Payne 1 ; Ryan Sudbrook 1

Central Michigan

Batting:

2B: Bowman, Harrison 1 ; Milto, Joey 1 ; Keilen, Logan 1 ; Correa Jr., Miguel 1 ; Ball, Nathan 1

3B: Webb, Bryson 1

HR: Bowman, Harrison 1

RBI: Bowman, Harrison 9 ; Milto, Joey 2 ; Keilen, Logan 3 ; Prout, Cole 1 ; Knowlton, Zach 2 ; Loikits, Drew 1

SH: Correa Jr., Miguel 1

SF: Knowlton, Zach 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Webb, Bryson 5 ; Bowman, Harrison 3 ; Krzciok, Brady 1 ; Correa Jr., Miguel 2 ; Bouscher, Dominic 1 ; Prout, Cole 2 ; Knowlton, Zach 2 ; Loikits, Drew 2