MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan scored six times over the first two innings and held off a late Missouri State rally to secure a series win over the Bears with a 7-4 victory Sunday afternoon on a quagmire at Theunissen Stadium.
In a game contested in near-freezing temperatures and a steady rainfall most of the afternoon, the Chippewas (10-13) took advantage of a season-high four MSU errors—including three in a four-run second inning—and rode the pitching of starter Pat Leatherman (2-3) and reliever Michael Brettell to their second-straight win over the Bears (15-8).
After Daniel Jipping’s two-out, two-run homer off Bears starter Doug Still handed the home club a 2-0 lead in the first, the Chippewas cashed in on a series of defensive miscues in the second to score four unearned runs to build a six-run lead that MSU would not seriously threaten until the ninth inning.
With runners on the corners and two out, Alex Borglin’s grounder to the right side was handled by Aaron Meyer, but the second baseman’s throw was wide of the bag, allowing Dazon Cole to come home with the first run of the inning. Jason Sullivan’s double to left plated a pair of Chippewas, before two more errors combined to bring him around as well for a 6-0 CMU cushion.
The Bears answered with their first run of the day in the third, as Landan Ruff delivered the first of his two singles, then scored on a bases-loaded walk to Justin Paulsen.
Leatherman limited the Bears to a single unearned run on just three hits while striking out six over 5.0 innings. Brettell picked up right where Leatherman left off by setting down the first seven Bears he faced before Jake Burger’s one-out single in the eighth snapped a string of nine in a row retired by the CMU duo.
CMU plated an insurance run in the seventh, scoring its seventh two-out tally of the game when Jipping walked and Cole doubled him home to make it a 7-1 game.
Trailing by six runs entering the ninth, the Bears mounted a rally after John Privitera walked and Ruff came through with his second hit of the day to start the inning. With one out, Alex Jefferson was hit by a Brettell offering to load the bases, and Burger lined a base hit to center to cut the lead to five runs. Paulsen followed with a two-run double that narrowly missed clearing the right-field wall for a would-be grand slam.
But with the potential tying run at the plate, CMU closer Colton Bradley struck out Jeremy Eierman for the second out, then coaxed a game-ending fly ball to center off the bat of Meyer.
The Bears’ seventh loss in their last 12 games followed a similar pattern to their previous setback to the Chippewas, in which MSU left six baserunners in scoring position as part of a 2-1 loss. This time, MSU stranded 11 men, nine of which were left in scoring position.
Still (2-1) suffered the setback for MSU, despite striking out seven and allowing just two earned runs on seven hits over his 5.0 frames of work.
With his 2-for-4 day at the plate, Burger extended his personal hit streak to 14 straight games, while Paulsen drove home three runs with a two-hit effort.
Missouri State returns to Hammons Field Tuesday (March 28) to open a nine-game home stand with a 6:35 p.m. contest against Oral Roberts.
