Baseball wins two out of three against Akron
Central Michigan grabbed two more conference wins to improve to 7-8 on the season
The Central Michigan baseball team jogs to the dugout after warming up at Keiltiz Field at Theunissen Stadium, Saturday, April 5, 2025. CMU faced off against Kent State for the second of three games to be played this week. (CM-Life | Mark Hoover)
Central Michigan headed down to Arkon to take on the Zips in a conference series over the weekend. In the end, the Chippewas were the better team, taking two of the three matches. Central Michigan now has a 14-22 overall record and a 7-8 conference record on the season.
Game 1
The Chippewas got out to a dominant start against Zips in the opening matchup of the series on Friday. After a scoreless first inning, Central Michigan put up a four-run second to seize control of the game early. Sophomore left fielder Mikey Murphy, junior center fielder Zach Knowlton and junior catcher Aydin Wright collected the RBI’s for the Chippewas to start the scoring.
Central Michigan added four more runs to its tally in the fourth. Wright collected two more RBI’s as he singled through the left side to score the fifth and sixth runs of the game. Later in the inning, freshman shortstop Cayden Smith singled to right center, scoring two more runs and putting the Chippewa lead at 8-0.
Akron finally responded with runs of its own in the sixth and seventh before Central Michigan added three to its total in the eighth and ninth.
Akron made a comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four runs, but it wasn’t enough. The Chippewas took game one with a score of 11-7.
Game 2
The second game of the series was a much closer affair. Akron scored the first two runs of the game in the third inning before Central Michigan answered with two of its own in the fifth, thanks to two RBIs from Murphy.
The Zips scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning and three in the sixth, giving them a 6-2 advantage.
The Chippewas, however, were not finished. A double from junior right fielder Cole Prout scored a run in the seventh before Central Michigan caught fire in the eighth.
With the bases loaded, Smith singled through the left side, scoring a run and keeping the bases full. Junior first baseman Brady Krzciok was then walked, adding a run to the tally.
Then Prout stepped back up to the plate and doubled into right field, scoring two runs and taking a 7-6 lead over Akron. A single from Wright gave the Chippewas one more run before the Zips collected the final out of the top of the inning.
In the end, Akron was unable to challenge the Chippewas with its final attempts at the plate, sealing the 8-6 comeback win for Central Michigan.
Game 3
Both teams got going early in the final game of the series, each scoring a run in the second inning.
After a scoreless third, Prout built off of his performance on Saturday and sent a home run over the right field wall to score another run for Central Michigan.
Sophomore designated hitter Nathan Ball added another on the scoreboard with a single in the fifth, allowing Murphy to cross home plate.
The Chippewas continued to apply pressure in the sixth inning. A home run by Krzciok scored a fourth run before Prout again went yard, adding a fifth. Junior second baseman Aaron Piasecki’s sacrifice fly scored a sixth run before the Zips were able to end the top of the inning with the final out.
In the bottom of the sixth, Akron scored its second run of the game to bring the deficit to four. Then, the Zips found their rhythm on offense in the ninth and rallied. Akron scored five total runs in the final inning, which was enough to overtake the Chippewas and win the game with a score of 7-6.
Central Michigan will be home for its next game as it take on non-conference opponent Davenport on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
