Dietrich Enns pitches complete game shutout, caps off sweep of NIU
In his first start in two years, junior right-hander Dietrich Enns didn’t disappoint.
Enns led Central Michigan to a 7-0 win over Northern Illinois Sunday in DeKalb, Ill., by throwing a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out seven.
In fact, Enns did not allow a single hit until the sixth inning when the Huskies (14-34, 7-14 Mid-American Conference) lead off the inning with back-to-back singles.
The win marks the first series sweep for the Chippewas (23-25, 12-9 MAC) on the season and the first time they have done that since they did it last year against NIU.
CMU completed the sweep by playing sound baseball in all the aspects of the game.
The pitching staff put together solid outings, from starters Zach Cooper (Friday), junior Pat Kaminska (Saturday) and Sunday with Enns, to the bullpen with senior Ryan Longstreth on Saturday and freshman Sean Renzi on Friday.
The Chippewas also hit ball this weekend, recording 21 runs on 28 hits, including the first career home run from redshirt junior designated hitter Reid Rooney.
They also didn’t commit a single error all weekend defensively, key for one of the worst defenses in the MAC (they have committed 86 errors on the season).
With the win and Toledo and Eastern Michigan losses, CMU is now one game behind the Rockets in the MAC West standings. The Chippewas also own the tiebreaker against the Rockets after winning two of three earlier this season.
There are still two more MAC series left, with both (Ball State, Western Michigan) at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas are back in action on Wednesday when they host a doubleheader against Division 1 independent Seattle University. First pitch for Game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Theunissen Stadium.
