Baseball team goes to Florida to take on the Hatters
Inconsistent pitching performances cost the Central Michigan baseball team its first two losses last weekend against Troy.
“There were times when we threw the ball pretty well, but there were also times where we didn’t throw it as well as we would want to,” head coach Steve Jaksa said. “I think we would want to sustain that a little bit longer.”
That inconsistent pitching weekend stemmed off 20 walks against the Trojans last weekend.
CMU catcher William Arnold said he trusts his pitchers to make their own adjustments throughout the game, and won’t make early mound visits unless he sees something different. But knows the walks issue needs to be cleaned up.
“Troy killed us with that,” he said.
Jaksa said his team will come out and pitch a little better against No. 23 Stetson Hatters in DeLand, Fla., in a four-game series from today through Sunday.
For CMU Zach Cooper is Friday’s starter, Jon Weaver and Ryan Longstreth command Saturday’s doubleheader and Rick Dodridge gets the Sunday start.
And the rotation will need to be in tip-top shape against tough competition.
The Hatters swept George Washington last weekend with a powerful offense that put up 19, 13 and seven runs while going 3-0. The Chippewas proved last weekend they can swing the bats too.
Arnold went on an offensive explosion during a three-game series against Troy leading a offense that compiled their own impressive resume of runs.
CMU scored 10 and 14 runs in the final two games of the series. Arnold was the main beneficiary, knocking four home runs in three games, getting recognition for it too.
Arnold earned three national awards for his four-home run, eight-RBI, eight-run series.
“I don’t know if I can," Arnold said when asked if he could repeat last weekend's performance. "I’ve never done anything like that before. I just need to have a good approach and just kind of hit the ball hard.”
Facing the No.23 team in the country is a test for CMU, but Jaksa doesn’t look so much at who the team is playing, but more for the personal test within his team because CMU played Stetson twice last season.
During the two-game series that began March 6, 2011, the Hatters swept the Chippewas. The first game was 9-8, the second 9-1.
“It’s another opportunity,” Jaksa said. “We’re very familiar with their field, we’re very familiar with their players. We know they’re going to be good, but we think we’re getting better and we think we’re pretty good.”
