University of Toledo
Central Michigan
Toledo Eliminates Top Seed Central Michigan in Consolation Round of MAC Tourney, 6-2
5/21/2015 11:45:00 AM | Baseball
AVON, OH – No. 4 seed Toledo took advantage of some clutch hitting, timely defense and gritty pitching to record a 6-2 victory against No. 1 seed Central Michigan on Thursday in the consolation round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at All Pro Freight Stadium. With the win, the Rockets improve to 25-32 on the season.
UT will now play No. 8 seed Akron tomorrow in another elimination game at approximately 4:30 p.m.
The Rockets produced a pair of two-out RBI hits, turned a pair of double plays, and stranded 12 Chippewas (35-22) on base to eliminate the 2015 MAC regular-season champions after just two postseason contests.
Junior SS Deion Tansel (4-for-4, RS, 2 RBI) paced the Midnight Blue & Gold at the dish with a season-high four hits, while junior CF John Martillotta (2-for-3, RS, 2 RBI) and freshman 2B Matt Hansen (2-for-4, 2 RS) also posted multi-hit efforts against three CMU hurlers.
On the mound, sophomore LHP Steven Calhoun (7-5) worked around six walks to earn his squad-best seventh triumph of the spring. The 2015 first-team All-MAC honoree gave up one run (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.
Junior LHP Ross Achter came on in relief of Calhoun and recorded the next five outs, before senior RHP Adam Tyson slammed the door shut with 2.0 scoreless frames to tally his team-high eighth save of the season.
The Rockets drew first blood in today's showdown on the strength of back-to-back RBI hits from Tansel and Martillotta in their opening at-bat against CMU LHP Nick Deeg (8-5). Toledo pounded out a pair of doubles in the inning and sent six batters to the plate to grab an advantage it would not relinquish.
CMU threatened in each of the first three frames and put a pair of runners on base, but UT's Calhoun pitched out of the jam each time to keep the Chippewas scoreless.
Toledo added to its lead with single tallies in both the fourth and fifth innings to make the difference 4-0. The Rockets received a run-scoring groundout off the bat of junior DH Tyler Baar (1-for-4, RBI) in the fourth and a two-out RBI single by Martillotta an inning later to create a four-run cushion.
The Chippewas once again put runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Toledo responded with another double play to preserve the shutout.
An inning later, Central Michigan pushed across its first run on a Calhoun wild pitch with a runner on third base. The damage could have been substantially worse for the Rockets, but they took advantage of a bases loaded double play to trim the difference to 4-1.
Toledo was quick to respond, though, plating an important insurance marker on Tansel's fourth hit of the game to re-establish a four-run lead, 5-1, in the seventh. Following a two-base throwing error from CMU SS Zach McKinstry (1-for-1), Tansel laced a two-base hit into the gap in right-center to steal back the momentum in the game.
Central Michigan did not go quietly and manufactured a run on a two-out RBI double by LF/C Tyler Huntey (1-for-3, RS, RBI) in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Chippewas had a golden opportunity to cut into the deficit further as they had the bases loaded with two outs, but UT's Achter induced a lazy fly out to right field to limit the damage to only one run.
Toledo then wrapped up the scoring with a two-out RBI single off the bat of freshman 1B Dalton Bollinger (1-for-4, RBI) to set the final difference at 6-2.
 The Chippewas' Deeg was saddled with the loss, yielding four runs (all earned) on eight hits with six punchouts in 5.2 frames.
Offensively, CMU finished with five hits and did not have a player post a multi-hit effort in the elimination game.
