Trowbridge struggles with command as baseball team loses to U-M
It wasn’t the best day for Central Michigan freshman starting pitcher Matt Trowbridge Wednesday in Ann Arbor.
The left-handed pitcher was roughed up on the afternoon, lasting just one inning. He allowed the University of Michigan to open a 5-1 lead as he gave up four walks and two hits in his inning of work.
Trowbridge was pulled in favor of freshman pitcher Dylan Rheault, but the damage was already done as U-M beat the Chippewas 7-3 in a one-game mid-week matchup.
“He just didn’t throw strikes, that’s the bottom line,” said head coach Steve Jaksa. “He didn’t have command, and I don’t exactly know why he didn’t have that kind of focus, so unfortunately, it led to a big inning for them.”
“We walked four guys in the whole game and all were in the first inning, so obviously that was an inning we quite frankly kind of wrapped a bow around it for them.”
CMU made it interesting in the top of the sixth inning with the bases-loaded and one out, but junior Jordan Dean grounded into a double play to end the threat.
“That was a bad at-bat,” Dean said. “They just fed me three-straight sliders.”
The five-run first inning for the Wolverines seemed to have a little bit of everything.
Trowbridge couldn’t find the strike zone in the one inning he pitched.
He walked the leadoff batter junior Patrick Biondi and repeated form with the second batter freshman Dylan Delaney.
After a wild pitch that advanced Biondi to third and Delaney to second, the runs began to pour in.
Freshman Michael O’Neill reached on an error by Dean and Biondi scored the opening run. Freshman Will Drake singled, scoring Delaney and then the Wolverines got crafty.
They successfully pulled off a double steal when O’Neill was safe at third base and Drake made it to second.
After two more walks from Trowbridge, sophomore Cole Martin singled in two runs, scoring Drake and senior John Lorenz, who was walked earlier in the inning.
Trowbridge threw his second wild pitch during the inning, this one advanced sophomore John DiLaura to third base, but he got Biondi – who led off the inning – to ground out, ending the inning.
“It was early and we knew that we were going to put pressure on them if we kept swinging it,” Dean said of the five-run first inning from U-M. “We have been hitting the ball well, so, we were feeling fine.”
Prior to the bottom half of the first inning, Dean hit his fifth home run of the season, this one a solo shot, but it was his only hit of the afternoon and he missed the opportunity cut into the Wolverines lead in the sixth inning.
Trowbridge, who was 3-0 entering the game, received the loss. Freshman James Bourque received the win with his three innings of pitching, but was one of five total Wolverine pitchers in the game.
The Chippewas head home for a three-game weekend series against Toledo at Theunissen Stadium beginning at 3:05 p.m. Friday.
