2008 Woodie Awards
CMU's comeback effort falls short in 5-4 loss to Ohio
Baseball team drops to 0-2 in MAC
By: Tim Ottusch
Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: Sports
The bases were loaded with just one out as the baseball team seemed primed for a comeback with senior designated hitter Jeff
Nowaczyk headed to the plate.
With the Chippewas trailing 5-4 Sunday against Ohio, Nowaczyk hit a hard shot, but right at Ohio second baseman Kevin Keen, who caught the ball and then beat a diving junior third baseman James Teas to second base to get the double play, ending the rally and the game.
With the win, Ohio took the second game in the three-game series at Theunnisen Stadium and gave CMU its first home series loss against a Mid-American Conference opponent since 2004.
"It's a game of inches and it didn't work out for us very well today, but I can't complain about the effort," said coach Steve Jaksa. "We gave a great effort and we swung the bat very, very well all the way through the end of the game."
Three batters before Nowaczyk came to the plate, senior right fielder Sean Hoorelbeke hit a near walk-off home run with one on and no outs.
Sophomore right-hander Jesse Hernandez (1-3) took the loss for CMU, going 2 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run while
striking out three. Ohio left-hander Matt Smith (2-1) picked up the win while right-hander John Angelicchi earned the
save (3).
Both starters had no decisions. CMU junior left-hander Dan Taylor went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, 10
hits and striking out five, while Ohio left-hander Zach Elmer went 4 2/3 and gave up zero earned runs.
For the second straight game, CMU's crutch was its offense in the first few innings. The Chippewas didn't score until the seventh in Saturday's 13-2 loss, and it wasn't until the fifth that the offense got going today.
Jaksa said it's all about making contact for his team's hitters.
"We just need to get a hit in the early stages, that's all," he said. "We thought we had some pretty good swings early."
After each team went scoreless in the first four innings, wasn't until the fifth inning that the Bobcats took the first lead. Ohio batted around in the fifth and scored four runs.
Nowaczyk headed to the plate.
With the Chippewas trailing 5-4 Sunday against Ohio, Nowaczyk hit a hard shot, but right at Ohio second baseman Kevin Keen, who caught the ball and then beat a diving junior third baseman James Teas to second base to get the double play, ending the rally and the game.
With the win, Ohio took the second game in the three-game series at Theunnisen Stadium and gave CMU its first home series loss against a Mid-American Conference opponent since 2004.
"It's a game of inches and it didn't work out for us very well today, but I can't complain about the effort," said coach Steve Jaksa. "We gave a great effort and we swung the bat very, very well all the way through the end of the game."
Three batters before Nowaczyk came to the plate, senior right fielder Sean Hoorelbeke hit a near walk-off home run with one on and no outs.
Sophomore right-hander Jesse Hernandez (1-3) took the loss for CMU, going 2 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run while
striking out three. Ohio left-hander Matt Smith (2-1) picked up the win while right-hander John Angelicchi earned the
save (3).
Both starters had no decisions. CMU junior left-hander Dan Taylor went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, 10
hits and striking out five, while Ohio left-hander Zach Elmer went 4 2/3 and gave up zero earned runs.
For the second straight game, CMU's crutch was its offense in the first few innings. The Chippewas didn't score until the seventh in Saturday's 13-2 loss, and it wasn't until the fifth that the offense got going today.
Jaksa said it's all about making contact for his team's hitters.
"We just need to get a hit in the early stages, that's all," he said. "We thought we had some pretty good swings early."
After each team went scoreless in the first four innings, wasn't until the fifth inning that the Bobcats took the first lead. Ohio batted around in the fifth and scored four runs.
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