Baseball set for fall exhibition Friday, will be first game since early MAC Tournament exit


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Members of Central Michigan University baseball team place their hats over their hearts as the national anthem is sung. 

The defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions will have a target on its back this spring as they navigate through league play, but before that happens the Central Michigan University baseball team will build its identity and grow as a unit for the fall.

After having eight All-MAC recipients a year ago, the Chippewas return an experienced group of players to the 2016 team, which includes 12 seniors and six juniors.

A number of returners had notable seasons in their respective summer leagues, including junior left-handed pitcher Nick Deeg. The 6-foot-5, 217 pound Lake Orion native impressed in the Cape Cod League and certainly will be an asset for the Chippewa this fall and spring.

“The guys that went out and played (over the summer) came back pretty confident, because they obviously had good summers against pretty good competition,” said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. “There’s several guys that you can physically see a difference in."

Jaksa said players reported Aug. 31 for a team meeting and workouts. Limited team practices began earlier this week and the team will play an exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays Friday at 3:05 at Theunissen Stadium, before beginning their fall schedule.

“What you do (during the fall season) is you've got to put a team together,” Jaksa said. “This team is going to be different from last year’s team. We have eight new guys and we have to put them together with those guys coming back. They’re not going to have the same role they had the year before—they’re going to have a little more.”

After the departure of six seniors in 2015, including the catcher and captain Tyler Huntey, the reigning MAC Coach of the Year is faced with the task of finding the next group of leaders to come to the forefront.

“Those guys that lead last year, they’re not here," Jaksa said. "So you got to find a whole new group that wants to take over this team and mold them and get them moving in a certain direction."

One of those potential leaders is senior third baseman Joe Houlihan. Houlihan’s .265 batting average, five home-runs and .944 fielding percentage made him the Chippewa's most improved player during his junior campaign and landed him on the MAC All-Defensive team.

Now, the Illinois native will look to remove the bad taste left in his mouth after last season's early exit from the MAC Tournament. The team had back-to-back losses to Akron (5-4) and Toledo (6-2) despite entering the tournament as the top seed.

“It was nice to win the MAC, but going 0-2 in the tournament, we didn’t end it like we wanted to,” Houlihan said. “We had high hopes going into the tournament and we just didn’t play our game.” 

A weekend started in 2015, senior left-handed pitcher Adam Aldred, who took the summer off from baseball for an internship, said he's feeling less pressure than previous seasons to win the MAC championship. 

"The fact that we already did (win a MAC regular season championship), it's kind of like you already know how to do it," Aldred said. "So, it's exciting. I know I have one more chance."

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