Friday doubleheader to kick off four-game series for CMU baseball at Marshall

Weather concerns have shifted the schedule a bit this weekend when the baseball team heads to West Virginia for a four-game series against Marshall.

The doubleheader, originally set for Saturday, has been moved to noon today.

Head coach Steve Jaksa said the times for the other games have yet to be determined.

“It’s really tentative right now,” Jaksa said. “We’ll know more after Friday’s game. They have field turf there, so that’s a factor. We’ll probably shoot for afternoon games, starting by at least noon.”

The Chippewas will start sophomore right-hander Jordan Foley on the mound for the first Friday game against the Thundering Herd in Beckley, W.V.

Sophomore right-hander Dylan Rheault will throw start in the second game of the doubleheader, senior Pat Kaminska will start on Saturday, and senior Rick Dodridge will start Sunday.

After Tuesday’s home opener against Madonna was postponed because of the weather, Friday’s game will be the first played since Sunday’s 15-inning 4-3 loss to Georgetown in the final game of the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The team played eight games in Florida over spring break, and Jaksa said the team improved through each game, and the progress helped in determining positions and lineups for upcoming games.

“We found another arm we can get in there and pitch in the sixth and seventh inning to sort of close the gap between the starters and closers,” Jaksa said.

Jaksa said offensively there is still work to be done, but progress has been made to narrow the lineups down a bit.

“We’re still not set completely,” Jaksa said. “We’ve got a few ideas to work on this weekend.”

Coaches are hoping to continue to have the starting pitchers improve and build on the performances seen over break.

Foley touts an ERA of 0.99 and in his last start threw a complete game in a 4-1 win against West Virginia.  Foley gave up seven hits, two walks and the one earned run in the game.

Although the Chippewas haven’t been too shabby at the plate, Jaksa said there are things he wants to clean up.

“I think we’re capable of it, but getting consistent is the biggest challenge,” Jaksa said. “We get hits and get the guys on the bags, but we need to find ways to knock them in to score.”