Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, May 23
Avon, Ohio
12:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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Central Michigan
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Eastern Michigan
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Central Michigan
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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Baseball Opens MAC Tournament With 4-3 Win Over Chippewas
5/23/2012 3:54:00 PM | Baseball
Butara takes no-hitter into the fifth, Simpson and John Rubino combine to go 5-for-8
Photo Gallery
Re-Listen to the Game
MAC Tournament Central
AVON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com)— The No. 6-seeded Eastern Michigan University baseball team used a combined 5-for-8 effort from Jamie Simpson and John Rubino along with two RBI from Tucker Rubino and Brent Ohrman to edge No. 3-seeded Central Michigan University, 4-3, in the opening round of the 2012 Mid-American Conference tournament Wednesday, May 23, at All-Pro Freight Stadium.
The Eagles (25-29) advance to round two of the double-elimination tournament and will take on the winner of the No. 2 University of Toledo versus No. 7 Miami Redhawks game Thursday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. The Chippewas (30-28) fall to the loser's bracket and will face the loser of the UT/MU game Thursday at 9 a.m.
Neil Butara (5-5) carried a no hitter into the fifth inning and recorded his first-career postseason win for the Eagles, who defeated Central Michigan starter Zach Cooper (7-5) for the second time this season. With the victory, the Green and White snapped a four-game losing streak and have now won the first game of the tournament in all four season under Head Coach Jay Alexander.
EMU moved to 3-1 on the season against the Chippewas and have now bested the Maroon and Gold on consecutive occasions dating back to the 2007 MAC Tournament. Wednesday's triumph was also the 30th win in EMU history at the postseason event which dates back to 1981.
Alexander received unexpected contributions from the bottom two hitters in his order. Simpson went 3-for-4 with a trio of leadoff singles and came around to score every time he reached base. The three-hit effort tied his season high for knocks in a game. Rubino posted a 2-for-4 outing and scored a run.
Just as Rubino (John) and Simpson took care of the task of getting on base, Rubino (Tucker) and Ohrman provided the hitting to drive them in. Rubino (Tucker) went 0-for-2 but notched a pair of sacrifice flies. He also stole his fifth bag of the season. Ohrman went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Sam Ott provided the other EMU knock on a 1-for-4 afternoon.
Butara pitched 6.1 innings over which he allowed just three hits and three earned runs. His strikeout total of seven fell just one short of tying his season high of eight. Jordan Glover tossed 1.2 innings of relief and Joe Battistelli pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save of the year. EMU pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, good for the highest mark in a MAC Tournament contest since the 2010 squad put up 10 against the University of Toledo in a 7-6 victory over the Rockets, May 27.
For Central Michigan, Cooper pitched his third complete game and threw 137 pitches in a losing effort. Cooper was responsible for four runs on seven hits along with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Chippewas managed just five hits, two of which came off the bat of Jordan Adams. Adams was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Sam Russell accounted for the other CMU run on a 1-for-4 afternoon.
Simpson and Rubino (John) started the third inning off with a single apiece to put runners at first and second. After Ben Magsig sacrifice bunted the runners up one base, Ohrman came through with a sharp shot to centerfield to score Simpson and Rubino to put the Eagles ahead, 2-0.
Butara rolled through the CMU lineup through the first four innings, allowing no hits and just one baserunner on a walk and two on errors. The Euclid, Ohio native racked up five strikeouts over that four-inning span.
Leading off again in the fifth were Simpson and Rubino (John), who each drilled their second singles of the game to put two aboard. Magsig then worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Rubino (Tucker) produced a sacrifice fly to plate Simpson and grow the EMU lead to 3-0. Ohrman and Matt Hitt each recorded outs to limit the scoring to just a single tally.
In the bottom of the fifth, Central Michigan broke up Butara's no-hit bid as Nick Regnier hit an RBI single up the middle to score Adams, who reached base on a walk and took second on a wild pitch. Butara got out of the mini jam with a 3-1 lead in tact as Pat MacKenzie grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Following a silent sixth inning, the EMU offense scratched together a fourth run in the seventh as Rubino (Tucker) again brought Simpson home on another sacrifice fly. Simpson notched his third hit of the game to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
A pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh brought the Chippewas back to within a run, 4-3. Butara departed with one out following back-to-back singles by Russell and Adams. Glover issued a walk to Reginer to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Eric Wrozek scored Russell and an infield single by MacKenzie allowed Adams to come home. Glover stranded MacKenzie at first by sending Tyler Hall down on a flyout.
Both pitchers faced the minimum number of batters in the eighth. Hitt reached base on an error, but Ott struck out and Lee Longo hit into a double play for the final outs. Glover then worked a groundout, flyout and strikeout in the bottom portion to send EMU into the ninth with a one-run edge.
Battistelli came on in the ninth to try and convert the final three outs. The Allen Park, Mich. native allowed a one-out single and a walk, but closed out the Chippewas with a pair of punchouts to bring the Eagles within three victories of the club's first MAC Title since 2008.
Re-Listen to the Game
MAC Tournament Central
AVON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com)— The No. 6-seeded Eastern Michigan University baseball team used a combined 5-for-8 effort from Jamie Simpson and John Rubino along with two RBI from Tucker Rubino and Brent Ohrman to edge No. 3-seeded Central Michigan University, 4-3, in the opening round of the 2012 Mid-American Conference tournament Wednesday, May 23, at All-Pro Freight Stadium.
The Eagles (25-29) advance to round two of the double-elimination tournament and will take on the winner of the No. 2 University of Toledo versus No. 7 Miami Redhawks game Thursday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. The Chippewas (30-28) fall to the loser's bracket and will face the loser of the UT/MU game Thursday at 9 a.m.
Neil Butara (5-5) carried a no hitter into the fifth inning and recorded his first-career postseason win for the Eagles, who defeated Central Michigan starter Zach Cooper (7-5) for the second time this season. With the victory, the Green and White snapped a four-game losing streak and have now won the first game of the tournament in all four season under Head Coach Jay Alexander.
EMU moved to 3-1 on the season against the Chippewas and have now bested the Maroon and Gold on consecutive occasions dating back to the 2007 MAC Tournament. Wednesday's triumph was also the 30th win in EMU history at the postseason event which dates back to 1981.
Alexander received unexpected contributions from the bottom two hitters in his order. Simpson went 3-for-4 with a trio of leadoff singles and came around to score every time he reached base. The three-hit effort tied his season high for knocks in a game. Rubino posted a 2-for-4 outing and scored a run.
Just as Rubino (John) and Simpson took care of the task of getting on base, Rubino (Tucker) and Ohrman provided the hitting to drive them in. Rubino (Tucker) went 0-for-2 but notched a pair of sacrifice flies. He also stole his fifth bag of the season. Ohrman went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Sam Ott provided the other EMU knock on a 1-for-4 afternoon.
Butara pitched 6.1 innings over which he allowed just three hits and three earned runs. His strikeout total of seven fell just one short of tying his season high of eight. Jordan Glover tossed 1.2 innings of relief and Joe Battistelli pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save of the year. EMU pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, good for the highest mark in a MAC Tournament contest since the 2010 squad put up 10 against the University of Toledo in a 7-6 victory over the Rockets, May 27.
For Central Michigan, Cooper pitched his third complete game and threw 137 pitches in a losing effort. Cooper was responsible for four runs on seven hits along with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Chippewas managed just five hits, two of which came off the bat of Jordan Adams. Adams was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Sam Russell accounted for the other CMU run on a 1-for-4 afternoon.
Simpson and Rubino (John) started the third inning off with a single apiece to put runners at first and second. After Ben Magsig sacrifice bunted the runners up one base, Ohrman came through with a sharp shot to centerfield to score Simpson and Rubino to put the Eagles ahead, 2-0.
Butara rolled through the CMU lineup through the first four innings, allowing no hits and just one baserunner on a walk and two on errors. The Euclid, Ohio native racked up five strikeouts over that four-inning span.
Leading off again in the fifth were Simpson and Rubino (John), who each drilled their second singles of the game to put two aboard. Magsig then worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Rubino (Tucker) produced a sacrifice fly to plate Simpson and grow the EMU lead to 3-0. Ohrman and Matt Hitt each recorded outs to limit the scoring to just a single tally.
In the bottom of the fifth, Central Michigan broke up Butara's no-hit bid as Nick Regnier hit an RBI single up the middle to score Adams, who reached base on a walk and took second on a wild pitch. Butara got out of the mini jam with a 3-1 lead in tact as Pat MacKenzie grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Following a silent sixth inning, the EMU offense scratched together a fourth run in the seventh as Rubino (Tucker) again brought Simpson home on another sacrifice fly. Simpson notched his third hit of the game to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
A pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh brought the Chippewas back to within a run, 4-3. Butara departed with one out following back-to-back singles by Russell and Adams. Glover issued a walk to Reginer to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Eric Wrozek scored Russell and an infield single by MacKenzie allowed Adams to come home. Glover stranded MacKenzie at first by sending Tyler Hall down on a flyout.
Both pitchers faced the minimum number of batters in the eighth. Hitt reached base on an error, but Ott struck out and Lee Longo hit into a double play for the final outs. Glover then worked a groundout, flyout and strikeout in the bottom portion to send EMU into the ninth with a one-run edge.
Battistelli came on in the ninth to try and convert the final three outs. The Allen Park, Mich. native allowed a one-out single and a walk, but closed out the Chippewas with a pair of punchouts to bring the Eagles within three victories of the club's first MAC Title since 2008.
Team Stats
Batting:
RBI: Rubino, Tucker 2 ; Ohrman, Brent 2
SH: Magsig, Ben 1
SF: Rubino, Tucker 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Simpson, Jamie 3 ; Rubino, John 1
SB: Rubino, Tucker 1 ; Ott, Sam 1
Batting:
RBI: REGNIER, Nick 1 ; WROZEK, Eric 1 ; MacKENZIE, Pat 1
SF: WROZEK, Eric 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RUSSELL, Sam 1 ; ADAMS, Jordan 2
PO: REGNIER, Nick 1
Game Leaders
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