Rochester, Mich. – Scoring in seven of the nine frames – including a total of 15 runs in the third and eighth innings combined – the Central Michigan Chippewas dispatched Oakland, 21-8, on Tuesday, April 12.

Oakland is now on a three-game losing streak and 15-16 in 2022, while the Chippewas, the top team in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), improve to 19-10 and have won nine straight.

Central Michigan put their first runs of the day on the scoreboard in the first when junior left fielder Garrett Navarra, a Sterling Heights Stevenson product, doubled to right center, scoring sophomore right fielder Jakob Marsee and shortstop Justin Simpson, a fellow junior.

The Chippewas would add another run in the second and eight more in the third, extending their lead to 11-0.

Marsee broke the game open with a grand slam, making the score 9-0, and sophomore designated hitter Danny Wuestenfeld hit a home run of his own two batters later to round out the scoring in the top of the third.

Redshirt senior right fielder Brenton Phillips was responsible for the Golden Grizzlies' first run of the day, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the third, bringing home graduate student center fielder Seth Tucker.

Tucker recorded an RBI in the fourth when his sacrifice fly plated senior first baseman Luke Malmanger, and Oakland's biggest hit of the afternoon was a three-run home run by graduate student second baseman Brad Goulet in the eighth.

The dinger was Goulet's fourth of the season and extended his hit streak to 10 games.

Making his second start of the season, freshman right-hander Hunter Pidek took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in his one-plus inning of work.

Following Pidek, seven more Golden Grizzly pitchers would see action, the best of which was freshman righty Aleksei Goldhill. Handling the fourth through seventh innings, Goldhill gave up three runs on four hits but struck out eight, showing the ability to throw strikes and record outs on a day where it was desperately needed.

Registering the final out of the third and pitching the entire fourth, sophomore right-hander Clay Brock, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, earned the win for Central Michigan, his first of the season.

The bright side of a game like this was head coach Jordon Banfield being able to afford some playing time to some of his lesser used players and freshmen Peter Jelenic and John Lauinger took advantage of this opportunity, both tallying their first career double.

Oakland will have a chance to avenge this loss at the hands of the Chippewas when the two programs round out their home-and-home in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, May 10.

Camilletti returns to Oakland
Now playing second base for Central Michigan, left-handed-hitting Mario Camilletti is a name likely familiar to fans of Golden Grizzlies baseball.

Another graduate of Sterling Heights Stevenson, Camilletti played three seasons at Oakland from 2018-20, earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team recognition in his first year on-campus and Second Team All-Conference honors in 2019. His 92 walks as a Golden Grizzly rank fifth in program history.

Since transferring to the Chippewas, he has picked up right where he left off, receiving First Team All-MAC honors in 2021. The leadoff man for Central Michigan head coach Jordan Bischel, Camilletti went 2-4 with a run scored, an RBI, and two walks on Tuesday.

Up next
Oakland will welcome in another MAC foe, the Northern Illinois Huskies, for a three-game set beginning on Friday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, the teams will play a traditional doubleheader and the Golden Grizzlies will not play on Sunday, April 17 to allow the team to celebrate the Easter Holiday.