Michigan pulls away late to top CMU baseball team
After losing two of three last weekend against the Mid-American Conference East leading Kent State Golden Flashes, the Central Michigan baseball squad traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines.
The Chippewas came up short against the Wolverines 9-7, falling to 5-20 on the season. Eight of the nine Wolverines who batted had at least one hit.
Freshman starting pitcher Michael Brettell (0-1, 7.59) pitched two innings on Tuesday. He gave up five runs — all earned — on three hits and three walks.
Over the last four games, CMU starters have given up 18 runs on 19 hits. The furthest any of those pitchers have pitched into the game was senior Nick Deeg (1-5, 6.55 ERA) game one against Kent State, as he pitched 6 1/3 innings despite giving up eight runs.
Freshman second baseman Jason Sullivan exited the game in the third inning during his second at-bat after being hit in the head by a pitch from Wolverine starting pitcher Keith Lehmann. Freshman Jarrod Watkins pinch-ran for Sullivan and stayed in the game at second base.
“He’ll be fine,” said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. “No concussion and nothing broke so he will recover and he’ll be fine. I don’t have an estimated time of recovery; it’s just a matter of how he feels.”
The Wolverines scored five runs in the first two innings. The Chippewas began to cut Michigan’s lead after a two RBI double by sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry in the third inning and back-to-back home runs by senior third baseman Joe Houlihan and junior catcher Robert Greenman.
CMU tied up the game 6-6 after an RBI single by freshman outfielder Daniel Robinson. A throwing error scored another run for the Chippewas on the same play. Michigan responded with three runs in the seventh inning, putting the Wolverines up 9-6.
CMU had a chance to tie it up or take the lead as the bases were loaded in the eighth inning with one out. Greenman hit into a double play to end the scoring threat for CMU.
“I’d rather a person hit the ball than strikeout in those situations,” Jaksa said. “The big thing is the approach. Was his approach good? Those are the things we look at. It’s the game. That’s what the game is. Sometimes the pitcher wins.”
The Chippewas stay on the road over the weekend for a three-game series starting Thursday against Missouri State (19-4), the No. 21 team in the country. Senior pitcher Sean Renzi (2-2, 7.17 ERA) will be back in his starting rotation to start on Thursday.
