Freshman strikes out 11 in baseball team's win Tuesday
Brian ManzulloFreshman Rick Dodridge calmly walked off the mound Tuesday after striking out the first three batters in the seventh inning and securing a 9-1 lead.
The left-handed pitcher finished the day with 11 strikeouts and gave up only one earned run in seven innings against Wayne State. Dodridge earned his first win of the season in the 9-1 game.
"It was kind of cold today so I wanted to throw strikes and get out of the inning quickly," Dodridge said. "My teammates supported me today with nine runs and I was just hoping to support them with some good pitches."
Dodridge struck out Wayne State right fielder Kyle Vesey three times. Vesey came into the game batting more than .300 and had only eight strikeouts on the season.
"(Dodridge) had pretty good velocity," said coach Steve Jaksa. "As the game went on he was gaining confidence and he started throwing in some breaking balls for strikes. At the MAC Tournament we are going to need at least four guys who can pitch."
CMU moved to 12-14 overall with the win against Wayne State. The team scored nine runs despite collecting only six hits and four RBIs.
The Warriors committed seven errors and one did immediate damage. Second baseman Jamie Bailey threw a ball into the dugout on an attempted throw to first base. It brought in a CMU run. CMU committed four errors of its own.
Junior center fielder Billy Anderson was CMU's only player to have multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Anderson also drew a walk, which boosted his on base percentage to a team-best .477.
Sophomore shortstop Robbie Harman had two RBIs and scored two runs despite going 0-for-5 from the plate. Harman reached base off Wayne State errors twice.
"It is always good when you can put some runs on the board, but they did help us out a little," Jaksa said. "We ran the bases well and we got some big hits."
The Chippewas play Michigan State today at 3:05 p.m. in East Lansing. CMU beat the Spartans twice last season, 10-7 and 14-6.
Junior pitcher Jesse Hernandez (0-2) is scheduled to make his second start of the season.
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