2008 Woodie Awards
Central opens in Las Vegas
By: Jacob Lougheed
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Sports
The baseball team will begin its season this weekend with a four-game road trip in Las Vegas.
Senior first baseman Sean Hoorelbeke said a fast start is CMU's goal.
"We aren't just going out there to win a couple games here and there," he said. "We are trying to get all four and try to hit the ground running, try to start it out the best we can."
CMU's season begins at noon Friday against Southern Utah. Later Friday, the Chippewas will start a three-game series against UNLV with games also on Saturday and Sunday.
Coach Steve Jaksa stressed the importance of coming away with a winning record this weekend and starting off the season on a winning note.
"We want to win MAC West, sure; but we also want to have an opportunity to win the whole thing," Jaksa said. "You do that by how you play right now, getting ourselves ready to play right now so that we can figure ourselves out."
The team enters the season as Baseball America's preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division.
"We have been one or two of the last four years," Jaksa said. "People look at us as a pretty steady program - a program that is going to be at the top and I think our guys are excited about that."
Senior outfielder Tyler Stovall led the MAC with a .391 average, 59 RBIs and 88 hits last season, and highlights a list of returning players for CMU.
"We have really good senior leadership this year," Stovall said. "I'm really interested to see how some of the younger kids step up and contribute to this team - that is going to be huge for MAC play."
Despite being predicted to win the West Division, CMU is predicted to fall short to Kent State for a NCAA playoff bid.
But Stovall doesn't buy into the predictions. He believes that his team has what it takes to get past KSU.
"I think we've got the strongest lineup coming back in the MAC," he said. "We are returning almost every position player, our pitching staff is looking good. Kent State always gets a lot of recognition because they have a lot of big recruits every year and a lot of those guys are just maturing for them - but I like our chances against them whenever we would play."
While CMU does not play Kent State in regular season play, the teams could meet in the MAC Tournament.
Central finished the regular season with a record of 35-21 (21-6 MAC) and went 0-2 in the MAC Tournament last season. This year the team starts out with its first 16 games on the road, playing in Nevada, Florida and Indiana. The Chippewas don't make their home debut until March 19 against Wayne State.
CMU also has four members of Baseball America's preseason all-conference squad. Hoorelbeke, Stovall and designated hitter Billy Anderson join Dan Taylor from the pitching staff as preseason honorees. Freshman outfielder Andrew Thomas also is projected as one of the MAC's top newcomers.
sports@cm-life.com
Senior first baseman Sean Hoorelbeke said a fast start is CMU's goal.
"We aren't just going out there to win a couple games here and there," he said. "We are trying to get all four and try to hit the ground running, try to start it out the best we can."
CMU's season begins at noon Friday against Southern Utah. Later Friday, the Chippewas will start a three-game series against UNLV with games also on Saturday and Sunday.
Coach Steve Jaksa stressed the importance of coming away with a winning record this weekend and starting off the season on a winning note.
"We want to win MAC West, sure; but we also want to have an opportunity to win the whole thing," Jaksa said. "You do that by how you play right now, getting ourselves ready to play right now so that we can figure ourselves out."
The team enters the season as Baseball America's preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division.
"We have been one or two of the last four years," Jaksa said. "People look at us as a pretty steady program - a program that is going to be at the top and I think our guys are excited about that."
Senior outfielder Tyler Stovall led the MAC with a .391 average, 59 RBIs and 88 hits last season, and highlights a list of returning players for CMU.
"We have really good senior leadership this year," Stovall said. "I'm really interested to see how some of the younger kids step up and contribute to this team - that is going to be huge for MAC play."
Despite being predicted to win the West Division, CMU is predicted to fall short to Kent State for a NCAA playoff bid.
But Stovall doesn't buy into the predictions. He believes that his team has what it takes to get past KSU.
"I think we've got the strongest lineup coming back in the MAC," he said. "We are returning almost every position player, our pitching staff is looking good. Kent State always gets a lot of recognition because they have a lot of big recruits every year and a lot of those guys are just maturing for them - but I like our chances against them whenever we would play."
While CMU does not play Kent State in regular season play, the teams could meet in the MAC Tournament.
Central finished the regular season with a record of 35-21 (21-6 MAC) and went 0-2 in the MAC Tournament last season. This year the team starts out with its first 16 games on the road, playing in Nevada, Florida and Indiana. The Chippewas don't make their home debut until March 19 against Wayne State.
CMU also has four members of Baseball America's preseason all-conference squad. Hoorelbeke, Stovall and designated hitter Billy Anderson join Dan Taylor from the pitching staff as preseason honorees. Freshman outfielder Andrew Thomas also is projected as one of the MAC's top newcomers.
sports@cm-life.com
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