Austin Knight limited Central Michigan to a single baserunner over a dominant seven-inning performance to help Missouri State complete a three-game sweep of the Chippewas with a 7-1 victory Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field.
Knight (2-0) retired the first 13 CMU batters of the day and allowed only a fifth-inning bunt single to log the third consecutive scoreless stint of 7.0 innings by a Missouri State starting pitcher in the series. The sophomore fanned five batters without issuing a walk, capping a strong showing by the Bears starting staff in which Knight, Jordan Knutson and Dylan Coleman combined to strike out 26 Chippewa hitters while handing out just four walks and allowing only nine hits in their 21.0 total innings in the series.
Held in check by CMU starter Pat Leatherman through the first four frames, the Bears’ offense put the game’s first run on the board in the fifth courtesy of a Matt Fultz double and an Aaron Meyer run-scoring single which stretched the junior’s career-best hit streak to 19 games.
MSU added two more runs in the sixth after three consecutive singles from Jake Burger, Justin Paulsen and Blake Graham. A sacrifice fly by Alex Jefferson made it a 3-0 contest, after Graham’s run-producing hit to right-center drove home Burger with the first of his two runs on the day.
The Bears (22-5) broke the game open with a four-run rally in the seventh, capitalizing on a pair of walks and a hit batsman to extend the margin to seven runs. With one out, Hunter Steinmetz and Spencer Johnson coaxed back-to-back walks, and Burger drew a base after being struck by a Jordan Grosjean offering. Paulsen’s sac fly to left brought in Steinmetz, and Graham turned in his second RBI single in as many innings to push the lead to 5-0. Next, Fultz’s base hit to right not only plated Burger, but also a hard-charging Graham all the way from first to complete the MSU scoring.
CMU (5-23) broke up the Bears’ shutout bid with a single run in the eighth, as a one-out walk came home to roost against Sam Perez after singles by Ryan Heeke and Robert Greenman. Bryan Young put the finishing touches on the victory — the Bears’ 14th home win in 2016 – by working a scoreless ninth.
Steinmetz, who also extended his own hit streak to 19 games with a fourth-inning triple, reached base safely in each of his final four trips to the plate, going 2-3 with two walks to lead the Bears’ offense. Graham and Fultz each chipped in with two-hit, two-RBI performances for MSU.
Missouri State welcomes Saint Louis to Hammons Field for a Tuesday (April 5) contest, which is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start.
