WITH VIDEO: Baseball beats Madonna in home opener
The CMU baseball team took advantages of errors and a three-run sixth inning that propelled the team to a 3-1 win against Madonna University on Tuesday at Theunissen Stadium.
After Matt Faiman struck out, senior Brendan Emmett and junior Tyler Hall scored on a throwing error.
Junior William Arnold rounded out the scoring with an RBI single that scored junior Nate Theunissen, giving the Chippewas the lead after falling behind 1-0.
CMU coach Steve Jaksa said he was generally pleased with the performance.
“I think William (Arnold) has learned a lot in his tenure here,” Jaksa said. “He has really made an improvement on the offensive side of the ball. He is just doing a nice job right now, and consistency is the name of the game.”
Arnold has assumed the role of starting catcher after the Chippewas lost four-year starter Dale Cornstubble to graduation last year.
Senior Jake Sabol started the game on the mound for the Chippewas. He threw four innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits while striking out four Madonna players. Sabol got off to a slow start in the beginning but settled in, cruising through the next couple of innings.
Sabol said after the game he wanted to get his arm back into starting-pitcher shape.
“I wanted to come out and throw strikes and keep my pitch count low and see how long I could go,” said the 6-foot-5 pitcher from Shelby Township. “I was able to get a lot of ground balls, and that was my game plan. It worked pretty well.”
Said Jaksa: “He (Sabol) threw a lot of strikes and he was in the zone the entire time he was out there. He was very aggressive and I would like him to keep throwing like that out there.”
Following Sabol on the mound was junior Ryan Longstreth, who pitched one scoreless inning and, then, junior Jon Weaver (2-0) threw two scoreless innings and picked up his second win of the season. Seniors Mike Nixon and Matt Faiman finished the game for the Chippewas without allowing a hit in the final two innings.
Faiman picked up the save in his first appearance on the mound of the season.
The Chippewas (8-9 overall) now travel to Columbia, Mo. for a four game stint against Missouri that begins on Friday with a doubleheader on Saturday. CMU is at home next Wednesday for the first conference game of the season against Bowling Green at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas will seek their second consecutive regular season MAC title as conference play begins next week.
