STOVER: CMU baseball's win at Michigan State proved to be a confidence booster
Maybe it was because it was against Michigan State.
Or maybe that win was bigger because it ended a losing streak.
Whatever the case, the Central Michigan baseball team needed the jolt of adrenaline it received March 30. CMU brought a 9-16 record into East Lansing. It was in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
A week and a half later, the Chippewas are 16-17.
CMU lost four in a row prior to beating MSU, including dropping its first three Mid-American Conference games to Miami University. But since then, the Chippewas have won seven of eight. They knocked off the Spartans, but that wasn’t enough.
After taking two of three from Ohio, they beat Michigan 9-4. And over the weekend, they swept Akron. It seems they’ve righted the ship, at 5-4 in the MAC.
Suddenly, a team that struggled for the first month of the season is 4-0 against Big Ten schools — and 2-0 against in-state foes.
In both games, CMU coach Steve Jaksa turned to a new addition to the pitching staff, a guy who has pitched at three schools in as many years.
Ryan Longstreth started at Saginaw Valley in 2009, then took a detour through Kellogg Community College to get to where he’s at. That’s not to say he hasn’t had his struggles during his debut season as a Chippewa, judging by a 5.62 ERA.
But he got the ball rolling against Michigan State, giving up just five hits and a walk through eight innings and getting the win.
Out of the weekend rotation, Longstreth will get a lot of mid-week starts. It should be no surprise his next assignment came against Michigan. And it should be no surprise that, after his performance against MSU, his team had a chance to win when he left the game — even if he only pitched three innings against the Wolverines.
That’s a formula to live by: Have your mid-week starters give you a chance to win. Then, rely on your horses over the weekend.
It seems to be working.
Take Sunday, the finale of a three-game series on the road against Akron. Senior Jake Sabol pitched a complete game shutout against the Zips, clinching the sweep.
To start the series in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Trent Howard pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, and CMU won 3-2.
Zach Cooper didn’t fare as well during the second game of the series, but his 3.40 ERA proves he’s a weekend rotation mainstay. But throw away the statistics.
The only one that matters is the one in the standings, and CMU is 7-1 since March 30. That’s a far cry from winning nine out of its first 25.
It’s a far cry from panic. No, instead, the Chippewas finally seem at ease.
It only took them a little over a month. But with MAC play just beginning, the timing is more than ideal.
