BY BEN PORTNOY
A Yoda mask, a snowman mascot head and a football — those were just a few of the props the Central Michigan dugout employed in an upset win over Miami Friday.
The whimsical nonsense of the CMU dugout was no match for redshirt junior starter Ethan Small as the Bulldogs (48-13) dispatched of the Chippewas (47-13) by a 7-2 score in Saturday’s winner’s bracket game at Dudy Noble Field.
With a three-pitch strikeout of CMU catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell in the third inning, Small strode of the mound and yelled toward the Chippewas’ dugout.
“It’s just a competitive game in a really high-level situation,” Small said of the exchange.
In defeat, CMU snapped a 19-game win streak dating back to April 23 against Davenport.
One night after MSU head coach Chris Lemonis pulled freshman starter JT Ginn with arm soreness in the third inning, Small delivered a six-inning gem. The Bulldogs’ ace allowed just two runs on five hits with his lone blemish coming on a two-run home run from Jason Sullivan in the sixth.
Small’s 10 strikeouts Saturday also made him the third-ever member of the MSU 300-strikeout club.
“As far as the competitive nature, and the fierceness and the audible ‘Let’s go!’ and all that, that’s just me growing as a player and just being really competitive,” he said. “And even if I don’t have my best stuff just fighting to really just help the team win the game. That’s what it comes down to.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs were in business earlier than usual for a home game, as MSU was the visiting team due to NCAA tournament rules.
Batting around in the top of the first inning, they tagged CMU starting pitcher Cameron Brown for four runs on seven hits in front of the 11,511 fans at Dudy Noble Field.
Brown, who entered the contest at 10-0 with a 2.71 ERA, saw his average balloon to 3.07 after the first inning alone, finishing at 3.20.
Sophomore Tanner Allen led the MSU battery, finishing 4-for-5 with an RBI and a solo home run in the ninth. Allen is now 33-of-62 in his past 13 games, boosting his batting average from .240 to its current mark of .361.
“I’m very comfortable at the plate and I’m seeing the ball really well,” he said. “That’s baseball. It’s funny, you go from .240 to .350, and it’s just like that.”
Junior Dustin Skelton and sophomores Rowdey Jordan, Justin Foscue and Josh Hatcher each notched multi-hit games against the Chippewas.
CMU threatened in the later stages Saturday, loading the bases with one out in the seventh inning for Lockwood-Powell. Instead of cashing in, senior Marshall Gilbert turned his second double play of the night as the Bulldogs escaped unscathed.
“I grabbed Marshall after the game and I told him his defense, that’s what we need him to do,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said.
With the victory, MSU advances to take on the winner of an elimination game between CMU and Miami at 8 p.m. tonight. If the Bulldogs win they would advance to the super regionals.
FRIDAY
MSU 11, SOUTHERN 6: Sophomore Jordan Westburg’s dismal May came to a thunderous close as he helped Mississippi State to an 11-6 victory over Southern in its NCAA Tournament opener.
Westburg’s go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning capped off a wild win over the Jaguars.
“It’s just been up and down, up and down,” Westburg said. “Coach Lemonis and coach (Jake) Gautreau kept their confidence in me and it’s just grinding through it and just to come through in a spot like that today was awesome.”
Sophomore Rowdey Jordan also helped pace the MSU offense with a 4-for-5, three-RBI day. Jordan’s two-run home run in the eighth inning afforded the Bulldogs the insurance runs they needed to bury the Jaguars.
It was a messy day for the MSU pitching staff as freshman Ginn was pulled after just three innings with arm soreness. Lemonis said postgame that Ginn will not pitch the rest of the weekend and that the staff will monitor him with caution.
Seniors Jared Liebelt and Cole Gordon shouldered the load out of the bullpen Friday.
Liebelt earned the win after pitching 3 1/3 innings. His lone blemish came when Southern second baseman Johnny Johnson hit a game-tying two run homer in the seventh that slipped off Jordan’s glove and over the wall.
Gordon notched his 10th save of the season, tossing two innings of one hit ball. He recorded all six of his outs via strikeout.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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