Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Sports

Senior outfielder Tyler Stovall, right, hit his first career grand slam March 1 against Central Florida in CMU's 10-5 loss. [Click to enlarge]

A 2-6 record during spring break in Florida is not fazing the baseball team.

Central struggled at the beginning of its trip in Bradenton, Fla., but won two out of its last three games.

"I think we accomplished some things we wanted, but at the same time from the win-loss standpoint you always want to do a little bit better," said coach Steve Jaksa.

CMU lost 14-1 to Vermont on Sunday after its offense clicked on Friday and Saturday.

The Chippewas beat Eastern Kentucky 4-2 Saturday after putting up 18 runs and shutting out Fairfield on Friday. Junior pitcher Steve Teno (2-1) pitched eight scoreless innings in the route and allowed five hits, five walks and struck out five. Hoorelbeke led the offense with a pair of three-run home runs as a part of CMU's 24-hit performance.

"We really came ready to play," said senior outfielder Tyler Stovall. "It's always more fun to have those kind of blowouts where you see a lot of guys who might have been struggling early in the year get into a groove and see what we're really capable to do."

Despite the rough stretch, Jaksa said the team remains confident.

"I think the wins and losses are going to take care of themselves," he said. "You want to win every game, but also recognize that the important thing for us is to continue to get better and find the right combinations."

The Chippewas also met Stetson for a two games on March 5 in DeLand, Fla. The two-day series was made into a doubleheader because of rain the previous day.

In game one, CMU held a 2-1 lead after senior Sean Hoorelbeke's second home run of the season. However, the Hatters responded by pounding out 16 hits to win 13-3.

Game two was much like the first as Stetson scored two runs in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead as CMU lost 11-5.

The Chippewas faced Central Florida in Orlando three times starting Feb. 29.

UCF completed a three-game sweep with its 4-3 win on March 2.

Despite Stovall's first career grand slam on March 1, CMU lost 10-5.

A costly error put CMU behind early on Feb. 29, and the offense couldn't get anything going as the Chippewas lost game one 4-0.

The team has developed a pattern of falling behind early in games, doing so in 11 of the 12 games this season.

"We've just got to score first, it's no big secret that we have to be able to knock people in and get on top to get ahead of people," Jaksa said. "The key is to get ahead and to build on that momentum."



sports@cm-life.com

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