Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
13-18, 7-11
Bowling Green
14-19, 8-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Mich. | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 22 | 1 |
| Bowling Green | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 1 |
Bats Boom as Baseball Wins Series Finale at Bowling Green
4/12/2026 4:01:00 PM | Baseball
Knowlton homers twice, Webb ties program record with 4 doubles as Chippewas claim series victory
And, more importantly, a Mid-American Conference series win that keeps the Chippewas in the hunt.
Zach Knowlton homered twice, Bryson Webb tied a program record with four doubles, and the Chippewas posted season highs in hits and runs on Sunday in bashing their way to a 21-13 win over Bowling Green in the finale of a three-game series at the Falcons' Steller Field.
"We came out ready from the get-go," CMU coach Jake Sabol said. "(Bowling Green's) starter had good stuff and we knew that. We had a good game plan going in. And our guys did a great job executing. We were on the barrel all day and didn't have a ton of cheap hits in there. Everything that we got, we earned."
The Chippewas took two out of three from the Falcons, improving to 13-18, 7-11 MAC. Coming out with a net gain on the weekend is a boon for the Chippewas, who are still very much in the running for a MAC Tournament berth.
CMU is set to play five home games this week: Nonleaguers with Milwaukee (Monday) and Youngstown State (Wednesday) and a three-game MAC series with Ohio beginning on Friday.
"Yeah, it was big," Sabol said after taking a series from the Falcons for the first time since 2022. "Obviously they're all big. It's huge for us with where we're at. It keeps us in the hunt, it keeps us in the fight, and it allows these guys to understand that, if they show up like that every day, man, we're going to be able to rattle off a bunch of them.
"I think these guys are realizing that they're better than our record shows. They keep responding. They keep doing things right. They know what we can do and how we can play."
Knowlton's second homer, a three-run shot, gave the Chippewas an 11-10 lead and ignited an eight-run eighth inning, after which they led, 16-10.
Brady Krzciok hit a grand slam in the inning as the Chippewas sent 12 batters to the plate. CMU sent 10 to the plate in tacking on five runs on six hits in the ninth.
Knowlton finished with a career-high five RBI and his two homers gave him five on the season. He also homered twice on March 13 at Kent State. Krzciok and Harrison Bowman drove in four runs apiece.
Spencer Verburg also homered for CMU as seven Chippewas collected multiple hits. CMU totaled 22 hits, 11 of them for extra bases.
CMU totaled six homers in the series, upping its season total to 42. The Chippewas hit 40 round-trippers in 2025.
"We have a really good offense," Sabol said. "We did it with the short game. We did it with the long ball. We did it with base running. They were locked in from the beginning and they understood how important this one was for us here on the road about halfway through MAC play."
Webb, who scored four runs, joined Jake Sanborn (1998) and Tyler Stovall (2007) as Chippewas to hit four doubles in a game.
Webb, a redshirt junior third baseman, moved to the leadoff spot 13 games ago and has hit safely in eight of the Chippewas' last nine games. He is hitting .365 and has scored 12 runs in those nine games
"He is a spark," Sabol said. "He's savvy. He's just knows the game. He wants to think the game a little bit better than you. He wants to be prepared. He's the first guy to pick signs or to bring in good information or to make an adjustment at the plate.
"He's got all the physical tools. We've seen him hit the ball out of the ballpark, we've seen him use the short game, we've seen him steal bases. He's playing tremendous defense right now. He's just uber confident, up there at the top (of the lineup), getting on base, and playing that way and relaying a bunch of stuff to the guys. He makes a big difference.
"It was a big-time performance (today) for him to spark our offense every time he came up."
Jack Potteiger (2-0), the third Chippewa pitcher, picked up the victory. He came on to start the sixth inning with CMU trailing, 8-7, after Bowling Green had scored six runs in the fifth.
Potteiger allowed two runs on three hits and struck out three. He left after striking out the leadoff hitter in the eighth and the Chippewas leading, 16-10.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Potteiger, Jack (2-0)
L: Kade Arn (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Webb, Bryson 4 ; Bowman, Harrison 1 ; Krzciok, Brady 1 ; Milto, Joey 1
HR: Krzciok, Brady 1 ; Verburg, Spencer 1 ; Knowlton, Zach 2
RBI: Bowman, Harrison 4 ; Keilen, Logan 2 ; Krzciok, Brady 4 ; Fleaka, Jonathan 1 ; Verburg, Spencer 2 ; Ball, Nathan 1 ; Knowlton, Zach 5
SF: Bowman, Harrison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Webb, Bryson 4 ; Bowman, Harrison 2 ; Prout, Cole 1 ; Keilen, Logan 2 ; Krzciok, Brady 3 ; Milto, Joey 1 ; Verburg, Spencer 2 ; Bouscher, Dominic 1 ; Knowlton, Zach 3 ; Loikits, Drew 2
SB: Webb, Bryson 2 ; Bowman, Harrison 1
CS: Prout, Cole 1
HBP: Verburg, Spencer 1
Batting:
2B: Carter Mottice 2 ; Jaxon Brown 1
3B: Brayden Curlis 1
HR: Andrew DiLodovico 1 ; Anthony Mitta 1 ; Zack Horky 1 ; Pauly Mancino 1
RBI: Carter Mottice 2 ; Lance Vickers 1 ; Andrew DiLodovico 2 ; Brayden Curlis 1 ; Anthony Mitta 1 ; Zack Horky 2 ; Pauly Mancino 4
SF: Lance Vickers 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carter Mottice 1 ; Lance Vickers 1 ; Andrew DiLodovico 1 ; Brayden Curlis 1 ; Jaxon Brown 1 ; Anthony Mitta 1 ; TJ Takats 1 ; Cooper McKenzie 1 ; Zack Horky 1 ; Pauly Mancino 2 ; Griffin Scheiderer 2
HBP: Brayden Curlis 1
PO: Pauly Mancino 1
