Baseball wins fifth straight game, holds top spot in conference standings
The last time Central Michigan University baseball lost a game was April 4 in a 16-inning 4-3 loss to Toledo.
Head Coach Steve Jaksa said the bottom line was that the Chippewas needed to get hits.
Five games and 63 runs and 72 hits later, the Chippewas are tied with their longest winning streak of the year and at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings.
CMU swept Eastern Michigan University at home this weekend, moving the Chippewas to 24-12 and 10-2 in MAC play.
Sunday
After blowout victories Friday and Saturday, the Chippewas relied on pitching in their 3-1 victory.
CMU took a 2-0 lead in the third inning after junior outfielder Logan Regnier tripled in a run and then scored on a wild pitch.
“The results weren’t like the last couple days, but not every game’s going to be like that,” Regnier said. “The pitching staff did a great job of keeping us in the game.”
The Chippewas led 2-1 in the top of the seventh when they decided to bring in senior closer Tim Black with one out and a runner on third base.
“He came out and shut them down,” Regnier said. “That’s what Tim does. I really don’t expect anything else every time he goes out there, to be honest with you.”
Black stranded the runner and would pick up the eight-out save Sunday.
“Tim was really sharp the last five outs,” Jaksa said. “He was just lights out, especially in that last inning. Really good tough slider and he located his fastball.”
Freshman reliever Sean Martens (5-0, 1.11 ERA) earned the win, pitching 1 2/3 innings and allowing two his and no runs.
Saturday
A packed Theunissen Stadium crowd watched CMU clinch its fourth consecutive conference series with an 18-3 win over EMU Saturday.
Junior pitcher Sean Renzi (1-1, 2.81 ERA) made his first career start and picked up the win. He pitched six innings and gave up two runs and two hits to go with six strikeouts and four walks.
“He walked a couple guys and then he got back into a good flow,” Jaksa said. “We exploded offensively, which maybe helped him a little bit.”
Sophomore center fielder Alex Borglin led the Chippewas in runs (5) and hits (4) while senior second baseman Pat MacKenzie finished with five RBI’s, three hits and three runs.
The Chippewas had 20 hits, surpassing their previous season high of 18, which they set Friday. Their 18 runs Saturday was also the most in a game this season.
“I thought we swung the bat pretty well,” Jaksa said. “We as a coaching staff thought (Jake Andrews) was their best starting pitcher of the three."
Andrews was hit in the face by a line drive in the third inning. He would walk off the field under his own power, ending his afternoon.
Senior center fielder Nick Regnier played for the first time since March 29 when he pinch-hit in the eighth inning Saturday.
“I was thinking about it while I was raking the field,” MacKenzie said. “All the years I’ve been here I can’t remember if we’ve done this. It’s a lot of fun.”
Junior first baseman Zack Fields and junior third baseman Joe Houlihan both hit home runs for CMU Saturday, propelling CMU to a 14-1 lead after three innings.
Friday
On a windy and cool Friday afternoon, CMU defeated EMU 16-6.
“They (EMU) made a couple of mistakes in the second inning and we capitalized,” said Jaksa. “They had a passed ball and the error in the infield. It just opened the gates.”
CMU finished with 18 hits, including a home run by junior first baseman Zack Fields.
Sophomore pitcher Nick Deeg started, picking up his sixth win going seven innings, allowing one run on eight hits and striking out four.
Senior second baseman Pat MacKenzie led CMU in hits with four, while freshman Daniel Jipping led in runs batted in with four.
Jipping, who also celebrated his birthday Friday, said keeping things simple at the plate were key in his success.
“I felt good,” Jipping said. “It’s just about sticking to the approach that we’ve been taught and that we have everyday. It seems to be working very well for us as of late.”
