Ball State University has upset the season in central Michigan.
But when it was all said and done, Central Michigan ended Ball State University.
In the Mid-American Conference championship game, Junior Garrett Navarra hit a tiebreaker three home runs in the seventh inning and Senior Mario Camilletti hit two runs in the ninth inning when Chipewas beat his rival Cardinals 11-7. rice field. Sunday in Muncie, Indiana. CMU dragged 5-1 after the first inning.
Sterling Heights Stephenson graduates Navarra and Camilletti have made Central Michigan appear in the NCAA tournament three times in a row. The last thing that happened was between 1984 and 1988.
Navarra is also a prominent pitcher of the season 10-2, winning a previous match in central Michigan. Camilletti has passed 50 RBI and is now 51.
Chippewas will study the NCAA Pass at a selection show set at noon on Monday.
Central Michigan (42-17) rolled earlier this season, winning 18 straight wins and then losing all four games in the series at Ball State University, the final regular season champion. But the MAC tournament is back this year for the first time since 2019, giving Chippewas a second chance — and they took advantage of it.
By the way, it was the Ball State series that helped change the course of the season.
“We didn’t play the best baseball. We didn’t really make a big hit or make a big pitch,” said Jordan Bischel. “We really challenged our guys at that point. We would have had to be tougher.
“That was certainly a tournament story.”
Chipevas lost to the Cardinals 9-7 on Friday, but survived by defeating Toledo 10-7 on Saturday before defeating Ball State University 12-3 on Saturday.
Then on Sunday, the latest offensive explosion from Central Michigan, which recorded 17 hits, including a red-shirt freshman Robby Morgan IV hitting a home run. Second graders Jacob Mercy (Allen Park) and Danny Westenfeld doubled the key RBI with eight RBIs in a tiebreaker with Mercy.
It was Mercy’s team’s 65th RBI this season (Westenfeld 64) and he danced a bit when he reached second base.
Navarra has been named a MAC Tournament MVP, and Marsee, Morgan, and freshman left-handed Adam Murakitsch have also created an entire tournament team.
Now, central Michigan has a lot of big dances. Whether or not Michigan, who is still alive in the Big Ten, will participate will be learned later on Sunday. Oakland lost Saturday in the Horizon League Championship Game routed 24-0 by Lightstate.
“We’ve done that,” Bischel said of the Chippewa team, which has recovered from three big deficits to win the match in the MAC tournament.
Ball State University, led by Amir Wright’s three hits, is coached by former Michigan head coach Rich Maloney, who has finished season 40-19 without participating in NCAA tournaments since 2006.
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tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @ tonypaul1984
