Chippewas' MAC Tournament hopes stay alive with victory against Miami (Oh)
Central Michigan 5 | Miami 3
The Mid-American Conference Tournament held two elimination games on Friday, the first game involved the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Miami (Oh) RedHawks.
Head Coach Steve Jaksa often preaches “taking it one game at a time." That approach was applicable heading into Friday's game as it was potentially the last game the seniors would play for the Maroon and Gold.
Senior outfielder Ryan Heeke may have played his final game as he was struck in the face by a pitch from Miami starting pitcher Zach Spears in the first inning. Heeke was sent to a nearby hospital and was replaced by freshman David Cole.
Even with the loss of Heeke, the Chippewas won their second straight tournament game, as they defeated the RedHawks 5-3.
CMU scored one run in the first inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by sophomore DH Daniel Jipping. Four innings later, the Chippewas put two more on the board on an RBI-double by junior first baseman Alex Borglin, followed by a pass ball by Spears.
Freshman starting pitcher Pat Leatherman retired the first 14 RedHawks he faced. He gave up his first hit of the game with two outs in the fifth inning. One batter later, he gave up his first run of the game after an RBI-double by Miami’s Adam Yacek.
Leatherman went 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up one run, three hits and one walk. He recorded four strikeouts on 90 pitches.
Sophomore pitcher Colton Bradley took over once Leatherman was taken out of the game. Bradley pitched the remainder of the game.
CMU scored one run in the sixth and one in the seventh to push its lead to 5-1.
Miami (Oh) pulled within two runs after a two-run home run by Gary Russo. It was his 19th home run of the season, which leads the MAC.
Bradley settled down after the home run, striking out two RedHawks and ending the game with a ground out to senior third baseman Morgan Oliver.
The Chippewas will play the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in another elimination game.
