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#MACBats Digest: Penultimate week of play tightens three-team race

With one weekend left in the Mid-American Conference regular season, the race to the finish has turned into a three-team sprint for the regular season title, and one postseason slot remains up for grabs.

Jack Dann

— 6 min read
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#MACBats Digest: Penultimate week of play tightens three-team race
Photo credit: Jon Ridinger (used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license via Wikimedia Commons)

With one weekend left in the Mid-American Conference regular season, the race to the finish has turned into a three-team sprint for the regular season title– and one remaining postseason slot.

Miami, Kent State, and Northern Illinois all handled enough business to stay locked into the top three, while Toledo kept themselves within striking distance of the podium after an important series win. 

Further down the standings, Bowling Green kept their postseason hopes alive and Ball State salvaged a key win, while Central Michigan– despite winning their weekend series– joined Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ohio in elimination. 

As usual, offense carried the weekend, but the difference-makers were often on the mound. 

Several teams got season-best or career-best starts at the exact moment they needed them, setting up one final weekend where the regular-season crown and the final tournament spots will be decided.

Series Standouts

For the second straight weekend, Miami had the most dramatic series in the conference, sweeping UMass in three games that each demanded a late answer. 

The RedHawks opened the series by climbing out of an early 5-0 hole, using a four-run sixth inning to take control before holding on for a 9-8 win. Senior infielder Dominic Krupinski and redshirt senior infielder Evan Appelwick both homered in the third inning to open the floodgates, ushering in seven uncontested runs. 

Miami’s run culminated with junior outfielder Ryan Novak’s two-run single, which gave Miami their first lead in the sixth inning. Senior pitcher Austin Berggren closed the door with two scoreless innings for his seventh save of the season.

The drama only grew from there.

On Saturday, Miami trailed again late before Krupinski tied the game with a two-run homer in the eighth. One inning later, Novak delivered the weekend’s first walk-off blow, launching a two-run homer to seal a 10-8 Senior Day win and clinch the series.

Then came Sunday’s stunner. UMass carried a 7-2 lead into the ninth, only for Miami to piece together a six-run rally. Redshirt junior Tommy Harrison, Appelwick and Novak all delivered run-scoring hits before sophomore catcher Carson Raether stepped in as the winning run. He jumped on the first pitch and sent it over the right-field wall, completing an 8-7 win, a series sweep, and Miami’s second walk-off in as many days.

Northern Illinois also made a major statement, taking their first series from Ball State in nine years. 

The Huskies opened the weekend with a 5-2 win behind a gritty start from junior pitcher Danny Cihocki, who allowed two runs across 7.2 innings despite Ball State scattering 10 hits against him. The NIU offense did not pile up hits, but took advantage of walks, mistakes, and timely swings. Senior catcher Ivan Dahlberg’s two-run homer gave the Huskies the lead in the fifth inning before graduate student infielder Gavin Baldwin and junior outfielder Charlie Parcell powered a three-run sixth inning that put the game away. 

Saturday was far more emphatic. The Huskies scored 10 unanswered runs in an 11-1 run-rule win, securing its sixth straight victory and eighth straight series win. Baldwin and Dahlberg went back-to-back in the fourth, junior infielder Vinny Spotofora drove in key runs, and freshman outfielder Wyatt Wawro continued to produce from the bottom of the lineup. 

Sophomore pitcher Carter Cox gave the Huskies six strong innings of one-run baseball, and junior pitcher Cooper Cohn struck out the side in relief.

Ball State avoided the sweep Sunday with a loud 17-5 win, jumping ahead early before blowing the game open with eight runs in the ninth. Still, the weekend belonged to the Huskies, who reached 31 wins, stayed near the top of the MAC standings, and continued one of the program’s best seasons in more than a decade.

Kent State had to fight through a tougher-than-expected series against Eastern Michigan, but the Golden Flashes still came away with two wins. Friday’s opener looked lost as Kent State trailed 5-2 entering the ninth, but sophomore utilityman Sawyer Solitaria led off the inning with a home run, and the Flashes kept pushing. A wild pitch cut the deficit to one before sophomore utilityman Brady Marshall lined a walkoff two-run single to right, completing the 6-5 comeback.

Eastern Michigan answered Saturday, scoring three times in the tenth to win 10-7. Kent State built an early 4-0 lead behind home runs from junior outfielder Alejandro Covas and senior infielder Grady Mee, but the Eagles kept responding. Covas later tripled in two runs, and Solitaria homered again in the ninth to force extras, but Eastern Michigan’s offense wouldn’t relent. Star senior infielder Devan Zirwas ignited the three-run tenth inning, icing the game for the Eagles. 

The Flashes restored order Sunday behind redshirt sophomore pitcher Ben Rabatin, who delivered the best start of his career on Senior Day. Rabatin threw seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits, while Solitaria homered for the third straight game. Senior catcher Brody Williams and Covas helped fuel a 13-hit attack in a 6-0 series-clinching win.

Toledo stayed hot by taking two of three from Ohio, though the weekend started with a frustrating 4-3 loss in 10 innings. Senior pitcher Nathan Leininger gave the Rockets seven solid innings, and redshirt freshman pitcher Nate Langbehn struck out five in relief, but Toledo could not generate enough offense and saw their seven-game winning streak snapped.

The Rockets responded in the second game  with a 7-5 win behind freshman pitcher Hayden Frey, who struck out eight across seven innings. Redshirt junior Troy Sudbrook, sophomore catcher Ty O’Brien, and freshman outfielder Liam Arsich each had three hits, with Arsich adding a solo homer. Toledo built a 5-0 lead, then held off Ohio rallies in the eighth and ninth.

Sunday’s rubber match was the most important result. Toledo trailed 2-0 through six before junior catcher Jacob Payne tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh. The Rockets added two more later in the inning, then broke it open with four two-out runs in the eighth. 

Redshirt freshman pitcher Michael Fliss was lights-out, striking out 10 over seven innings, and Sudbrook became Toledo’s single-season RBI record holder. With the win, Toledo stayed within range of the top of the standings heading into a massive final weekend.

Central Michigan took two of three from Akron, even as their postseason hopes officially ended. 

The highlight came Friday, when senior pitcher Hayden Bailey threw a two-hit complete-game shutout in his final home start at Theunissen Stadium. Bailey struck out eight, walked one, and did not allow a hit until the seventh in a 3-0 win. His performance would earn him MAC Week 13 Co-Pitcher of the Week.

Akron answered Saturday in a wild 12-10 game that featured five combined home runs. The Chippewas led 6-2, fell behind 9-6, then jumped back in front thanks to redshirt junior utilityman Bryson Webb’s grand slam before redshirt sophomore outfielder Brody Chrisman’s three-run homer gave Akron the lead for good.

The Chippewas finished the weekend with a 12-11 win Sunday, powered by 18 hits. Though Central Michigan was eliminated from the MAC Tournament race, the series win gave the Chippewas something positive to carry into the final week.

Bowling Green kept their own tournament hopes alive by taking two of three from Western Michigan. Redshirt senior Ethan Stade set the tone Friday with one of the best pitching performances of the weekend, striking out a career-high 15 over 7.2 innings in a 5-2 win. He shared the MAC Week 13 Co-Pitcher of the Week with Bailey for his work. 

Western Michigan evened the series Saturday with a 7-1 win, jumping out early and keeping the Falcons quiet. Bowling Green answered in Sunday’s home finale. Freshman pitcher Jackson Miller threw five shutout innings, allowed just one hit, and struck out a career-high nine to earn his first collegiate win. Redshirt senior Ty Roder handled 3.2 innings of relief, and junior infielder Vinny Salvione led the offense in a 7-5 win.

A look ahead

The final weekend now carries major weight at both ends of the standings.

Miami and Kent State sit tied at 22-8 in league play, while Northern Illinois remains right behind at 21-9. Toledo is still dangerous at 20-10 and gets a chance to directly impact the title picture with a huge series against Kent State.

On the bubble, Bowling Green still has a path, but it is narrow. The Falcons need to sweep Ball State and get help from UMass to reach the MAC Tournament. Conversely, Ball State needs just one win from the Falcons to secure the final postseason slot. 

UMass hosts Central Michigan for a three-game series to end the season.

With one weekend left, the MAC has a crowded title race, a tense postseason chase, and several teams playing their best baseball at the right time.

Play ball!

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