Errors cause CMU baseball to drop nonconference matchup with Madonna


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Sophomore outfielder Daniel Robinson runs to home with Assistant Coach, number 24, Doug Sanders cheering him home on April 5th at Theunissen Stadium

Five errors from Central Michigan let Madonna steal a 6-4 win from the CMU baseball team in a midweek, nonconference matchup.

Madonna, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics team from Livonia, Michigan, scored runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings. 

The Chippewas dropped to 17-15 on the season and hold a 6-0 record in the Mid-American Conference. 

Head coach Steve Jaksa said he was disappointed with the amount of errors that his team made today.

"A lot of them were not tough plays either," Jaksa said. "Sometimes you get some tough errors but I didn't feel that today."

Central Michigan got on the scoreboard first when Daniel Jipping scored on a single to right field from Dazon Cole. 

The second CMU run came from a two-out single from Daniel Robinson to drive in after Jason Sullivan hit a double into the right center field gap.

At the end of the fourth inning, a Madonna hitter chopped a hit right at Jordan Grosjean that tipped off of his glove. 

Alex Borglin hurried up to grab the ball and throw the runner out at first to end the inning scoreless. If the runner would of reached, the runner on third's run would have counted.

In the fifth inning, Madonna scored two runs on one hit, a walk, and two errors from CMU defenders. 

After scoring the two runs, Madonna loaded the bases and threatened more runs, but Zack Kohn struck out the next batter.

Grosjean started the game for the Chippewas. Grosjean was replaced by Zach Kohn with one out remaining in the fifth inning. Grosjean finished with five strikeouts and only gave up one earned run.

"I thought Grosjean did some things that we needed," Jaksa said. "That was a bright spot."

Kohn walked multiple batters and ended up being replaced an inning later by Jack Collins. 

Madonna added two runs in the sixth inning after the pitching change. 

Jipping scored another run for CMU in the sixth inning when David Cole singled into left field to cut Madonna's lead. 

Another error, CMU's fifth, allowed the Crusaders to extend their lead to two runs in the seventh inning.

In the eighth inning, Braxton Markle replaced Collins. Collins finished with one and one-third innings pitched and gave up two hits. 

In the ninth inning with two gone, junior right-hander Austin Smith replaced Markle on the mound. The Chippewas used five different pitchers in today's game.

CMU loaded the bases and scored one run in the ninth inning, but wasn't able to come back from a three-run deficit in the final inning and fell by a score of 6-3.

"Offensively, we just didn't get enough good swings," Jaksa said. "We had a few, but just didn't put enough together."

The Chippewas take on rival Western Michigan at 3:05 p.m. on Friday, April 14 at Theunissen Stadium.

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