As CMU baseball struggles, underclassmen exceed expectations
With the Central Michigan baseball team resting at 8-28 and 3-6 in the Mid-American Conference, the Chippewas only have about a month left to turn their season around.
The team hasn’t been able to consistently win games, but one thing that has been consistent is the play from the underclassmen.
The best batting average on the team belongs to sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry (.352), while the best ERA belongs to senior pitcher/third baseman Morgan Oliver (0.00). The second best ERA is sophomore Colton Bradley at 2.16.
“We are the face of the team right now,” said redshirt freshman outfielder/pitcher Dazon Cole. “The older guys preach to us every day that we’re going to have to come up and make big plays and big turnarounds for the team. It’s important for us to step up."
More than 50 percent of the team consists of underclassmen, with 12 freshman and six sophomores. There are six juniors and 11 seniors on the team.
There are eight freshmen playing offensive positions. Only one of those eight players — redshirt freshman Ty Rollin — hasn’t started a game this season.
Offensive starts per class rank entering Wednesday
Freshmen: 114 | Average starts per freshman: 14.25
Sophomores: 75 | Average starts per sophomore: 25
Juniors: 64 | Average starts per junior: 16
Seniors: 71 | Average starts per senior: 11.83
McKinstry and junior first baseman Alex Borglin have started all 36 games on the schedule this season.
The surge of the younger players wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the older players, according to sophomore left fielder/DH Daniel Jipping.
“There are definitely young players like Zach McKinstry, who a lot of people see and standout; he’s really good,” Jipping said. “The incoming freshman are really, really good too, but I like the standpoint that we are a team. It’s more of a team than just faces.”
Some of the players that Jipping has learned lessons from include former players Pat MacKenzie and Nick Regnier and current outfielder Ryan Heeke.
“(Regnier and Heeke) taught me how to play outfield,” Jipping said. “The things I struggled with at the plate like staying calm and being confident, they would just walk me through how to play hard. You can always take anything from every single player you play with. They impacted me a lot and still are.”
Freshman second baseman Jason Sullivan noted the older players — specifically senior third baseman Joe Houlihan — have helped his game as the season has progressed. Houlihan gave Sullivan advice about throwing the ball to first base.
“They teach stuff not only in baseball, but outside of baseball,” Sullivan said. “The do's and don’ts, the right choices from wrong choices. They’ll share their stories and how (to) not get in those situations. They really reach out to the younger players.”
Jipping leads the team with five home runs. The rest of the team has four combined. The most any other player has is one.
The underclassmen also lead the upperclassmen in hits, 184-99, RBIs, 77-55 and runs, 100-55.
There are similar numbers on the defensive side. The underclassmen have a lower ERA (4.18) than the upperclassmen (6.70). Underclassmen have given up 72 earned runs in 2016 while the upperclassmen have given up 136. There are five underclassmen pitchers compared to eight upperclassmen.
Last weekend’s three-game series against Ball State saw eight freshman and seven sophomores start in those three games.
