Jipping's jack, early offense propel baseball to series-opening contest over Toledo
In center field at Theunissen Stadium in Mount Pleasant, the wall is taller than everywhere else in the ballpark and stands 400 feet from home plate.
Sophomore Daniel Jipping jacked a home run beyond that wall into the trees.
In the second inning, the Central Michigan baseball left fielder took the first pitch from Toledo's Steven Calhoun and propelled the ball into the shrubbery beyond the center field wall to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead.
CMU won the contest 14-2 to snap a three-game losing streak. The Chippewas improve to 9-29 and 4-6 in Mid-American Conference play after its series-opening win over the Rockets.
Head Coach Steve Jaksa said his team took Assistant Coach Doug Sanders' approach against Calhoun to form their offensive attack.
“They executed," Jaksa said. "I just thought our guys executed the plan really well.”
CMU scored 14 runs on 11 hits two days after scoring six runs on 13 hits in a walk-off loss at Notre Dame.
Jaksa said getting quality at-bats has been the key to the team's offensive success.
“I hope we’re doing a good job with what we’re doing," Jaksa said. "The guys have bought in and they’re getting better.”
After a strikeout by sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry in the second inning, Jipping went yard for his sixth home run of the season. He said he thinks that is the farthest he's ever hit a ball.
“It’s important to pick your teammates up," Jipping said. "It’s not necessarily a home run that’s necessary. It’s about getting a guy on base, trying to keep the momentum of the six-run inning to keep pouring it on to help (senior right-handed pitcher Sean) Renzi out.”
Jaksa said he's seen players hit home runs that distance before and used to keep track of how many were hit. He said Jipping's approach helps him to hit the baseball that far.
“He has the capacity. If he stays within himself and allows himself to have the quality at-bats, he’s going to do that," Jaksa said.
Sophomore designated hitter Colton Bradley hit a two-run double in the first inning to extend CMU's lead to 5-0 with nobody out in the inning. After a groundout by senior third baseman Morgan Oliver, junior catcher Robert Greenman singled to score Bradley and make the game 6-0.
The Chippewas sent all nine batters to the plate in the first inning. They added five more in the third, including a three-run triple by McKinstry, to take a 12-0 lead after three innings. Jipping and McKinstry combined for seven RBIs.
CMU was led on the mound by Renzi, who threw over 100 pitches in six innings. He gave up three hits on one run while walking five. He struck out seven batters and allowed only one hit in four innings.
Despite a four-walk fifth inning, where the Rockets' scored their first run, Jaksa said he got what he wanted out of his Friday starter.
“He knows he’s got a job to do, and that’s to get outs. Because until we get 27 (outs), the game’s not over," Jaksa said.
The Chippewas would not score again until the seventh inning. Jaksa said he felt his team gave away some at-bats.
“You just cannot do that," Jaksa said. "You can’t just turn it on-and-off like a water faucet. You have to continue to battle and have a good at-bat.”
Jipping said the the Chippewas are becoming more confident as they stand a win away from achieving double digits in the win column.
"We’re starting to click and it really showed today," Jipping said.
Game two is slated for 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
