On Tuesday, May 14, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team defeated the Central Michigan University (CMU) Chippewas in their final home game of the regular season at the Oakland Baseball Field with a final score of 9-6.
The win marks OU’s second against the Chippewas and their 29th win this season. Notably, this is the first time in program history the Golden Grizzlies have won two games against CMU in the same season.
Brandon Heidal and Ian Cleary led the Golden Grizzlies in hits, with both players rattling off two. In addition to leading OU in hits, Cleary also led the team in RBIs with a season-high of four.
From the mound, a flurry of nine different Golden Grizzlies shared time on the mound. The nine pitchers combined for eleven strikeouts, allowing six hits on the day. Doug Loden was awarded the win on the day, and Josh Korson earned a save — both their first of the season.
The Golden Grizzlies didn’t wait long to get on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the first inning, through multiple walks and an error, OU loaded the bases with no outs.
As a result, another walk put the first point on the board for the Golden Grizzlies, and Cleary singled, bringing in two runners, putting OU ahead of CMU 3-0 at the end of the inning.
However, the Chippewas had an answer for the Golden Grizzlies in the following inning. Highlighted by a triple from Cole Prout, CMU scored three runs in the bottom of the second to tie things up with the OU 3-3.
Despite the quick response from CMU, the Golden Grizzlies got back to business in the third inning. A combination of Trent Rice, Sam Griffith, Reggie Bussey and Ben Clark all crushed the ball for consecutive hits, lifting the Golden Grizzlies over the Chippewas 6-3 at the inning’s conclusion.
CMU ushered in a pair of runs in the fifth inning, coming within one point of the Golden Grizzlies, but OU continued to capitalize at the plate in the sixth inning.
After the Chippewas walked Bussey, he stole both second and third, putting himself in the prime position to score. From there, the Golden Grizzlies pieced together three straight hits to bolster their lead up to 9-5.
Come the eighth inning, the Chippewas started to heat up. In an attempt to catch up to OU, Drew Loikits had a single and OU walked Danny Wuestenfeld on the following at-bat at the start of the inning.
With two runners on base, Jacob Donahue hit a single to left field, sending Loikits in to score and Wuestenfeld to second. Prout was walked during the next at-bat, loading the bases for the Chippewas late into the game.
Despite having the opportunity to take back the lead, the Chippewas failed to bring in any more runs. Additionally, CMU had a three-up, three-down inning in the ninth, making the Golden Grizzlies triumphant 9-6.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will play the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on the road in a three-game series that starts on Thursday, May 16, and ends on Saturday, May 18.
The series will be pivotal for OU ahead of the Horizon League tournament. Currently, the Golden Grizzlies are in third place in the Horizon League standings, a game behind the Northern Kentucky Norse, who are in second place.
In the event that OU jumps ahead of the Norse in the standings following their series against the Mastodons, the Golden Grizzlies will earn a bye for the first day, which accounts for the first three games of the Horizon League tournament.