Baseball resumes MAC play vs. Akron
The CMU baseball team looks for its third Mid-American Conference series win of the season this weekend when it faces Akron.
The Chippewas (15-11, 5-1 MAC) are 6-0 at home as they start a three-game weekend series starting at 3:05 p.m. Friday at Theunissen Stadium.
Senior right-hander Jesse Hernandez called his team “prideful” when referring to playing well at home and getting a series win.
“We like to protect what is ours,” he said. “We don’t want to let other people come in and run in our house.”
There will not be any changes to a pitching rotation that picked up a series sweep last weekend against Ohio.
Hernandez starts on Friday and is followed by sophomore left-hander Rick Dodridge at 2 p.m. Saturday and junior right-hander Jake Sabol at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“We feel comfortable with our rotation — we thought they all pitched well in their respective roles,” said coach Steve Jaksa. “... We are 5-1 with those guys starting in two series. If we can come out of here 8-1, we will be doing good.”
The Zips are led by sophomore Drew Turocy, who has a .413 batting average, four home runs and 31 runs batted in this season. Akron (14-13, 2-4 MAC) is on a four-game losing streak after being swept by Toledo last weekend.
The Chippewas were successful in their first two conference series this year, taking two of three from Miami (OH) and sweeping Ohio last weekend. Their 5-1 record ties them for first in the conference with division foes Toledo and Ball State.
Jaksa said the team has goals for each weekend to stay on task for its overall goals.
“A series win is another step closer to your goal, and each individual weekend has its own set of goals,” he said. “If something happens that you don’t want to, you want to make sure it is not because you weren’t ready to go. You want to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.”
LOSS TO MICHIGAN
Michigan denied CMU’s opportunity to extend its win streak to seven games Wednesday in a 13-7 victory. Junior Matt Gerbe picked up his first win of the season for the Wolverines, allowing zero earned runs over 3 and 2/3 innings. CMU junior right-hander Bryce Morrow recorded his first loss of the season, allowing eight earned runs over 3 and 1/3 innings.
