CMU takes on WMU in season's final series with MAC Tournament seeding on the line
With a spot already clinched in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Central Michigan baseball team can still improve its seeding this weekend against in-state rivals Western Michigan.
CMU swept WMU last season at Robert J. Bobb Stadium in Kalamazoo, outscoring the Broncos 21-6. The Chippewas won two-of-three against the Broncos at Theunissen Stadium in 2014.
The Chippewas (19-34, 10-11 MAC) punched their ticket to Avon, Ohio after last Sunday's win against Miami (Ohio) and after Bowling Green lost both games of a double-header against MAC leading Kent State.
KSU and Ball State are locks at the top two seeds in the tournament. All other spots are still up for grabs.
The tournament begins next Wednesday, May 25 and ends Sunday, May 29.
CMU is tied with WMU, Eastern Michigan and Toledo in the MAC West with 10-11 records. CMU has the tiebreaker with Toledo after winning two-of-three games earlier in the season, but EMU has the tiebreaker with CMU after the Eagles defeated the Chippewas two-of-three times in late April.
Tiebreakers are decided by looking at each team's head-to-head results, followed by winning percentage against ranked opponents. If there is still a tie after those two methods are used, the final tiebreaker is a coin flip.
The Broncos (17-29, 10-11 MAC) have won four MAC series in a row and haven't lost one since mid-April against Northern Illinois. They also haven't lost a MAC series on the road since the beginning of April.
The Chippewas are on a three-game winning streak and have won eight of their last 10 games, including home wins against the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans.
The Chippewas are led on offense by sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry (.344), sophomore left fielder/DH Daniel Jipping (.312, six home runs) and junior first baseman Alex Borglin, (.288, 18-game hitting streak).
The Broncos pitching staff has a combined 6.36 ERA, but starting pitcher Keegan Akin is 5-3 in 13 games started with a 1.77 ERA. He also has 107 strikeouts and just 22 walks all season, making for nearly a 5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Broncos also have six batters with a .290 average or higher, including three who are above .300.
Head Coach Steve Jaksa is in his 14th year as CMU's skipper, while WMU's Billy Gernon is in his sixth year at the helm of the Broncos.
Game one of the series starts at 3:05 p.m. Thursday at Theunissen Stadium.
