Baseball earns 10-0 mercy win over Kent State in series opener
Fresh off winning Mid-American Conference pitcher of the week, Jordan Patty tossed his third straight shutout in a 10-0 win over Kent State Friday at Theunissen Stadium.
Friday’s mercy victory opened a four-game MAC series between the Chippewas (18-10, 10-3 MAC) and Golden Flashes (13-15, 6-7).
"We did the things that we preach really well today," said head coach Jordan Bischel. "We threw strikes, attacked the strike zone and played good defense behind our pitcher. We had quality at bats and made outs hard to get."
Patty has now thrown 25 2/3 consecutive innings of scoreless baseball.
"There is nothing about him when you see him that makes you think he's a dominant pitcher, but he just wants the ball in his hands," Bischel said. "He gets out there and wants to compete. He's a good athlete and has a motor that wants to be in big spots. It doesn't mean that he's always going to have great outings, but it's never going to be from a lack of trying or lack of wanting to compete."
Friday’s win marks the Chippewas fourth-straight MAC contest and their 10th win in their last 11 tries.
KEY MOMENTS
With two outs in the bottom of the first, sophomore Garrett Navarra slapped a pitch down the first base foul line field. Kent State outfielder Cam Touchette slid to attempt a highlight reel catch, but the ball popped out of his glove and allowed senior outfielder Zach Gillies to score from second to give the Chippewas a 1-0 lead.
CMU continued to fluster Golden Flashes’ ace Luke Albright, who’s 1.35 ERA, five wins and 60 strikeouts sat atop of the MAC entering Friday’s game. The Chippewas added one run and stranded five base runners in the second and third innings before Jacob Marsee mashed a pitch past the 400 foot marker in center field to give the Chippewas a 5-0 lead. Albright would allow five-consecutive hits and four runs without recording an out in the fourth inning before being pulled.
CMU added three more runs off RBI hits from Navarra, Aidan Shepardson and Justin Simpson to take an 8-0 lead after four innings. The Chippewas added two more runs off a wild pitch and an RBI hit from Chase Rollin to take a 10-0 lead.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Marsee finished with three RBI’s, a home run and a double. Gilles scored three runs and was one of six Chippewa’s to finish with multiple hits.
Patty hurled seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits issuing one walk while earning a career-high 11 strikeouts.
Albright, currently on the Golden Pikes Award watchlist, allowed seven earned runs off eleven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in three innings of action.
KEY STATS
CMU out hit the Golden Flashes 9-0 and outscored them 8-0 between the third and fifth innings.
Patty has not allowed a run since the third innings of CMU’s 5-1 loss to Ohio on March 26th.
WHAT’S NEXT
CMU and Kent State clash again with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday at Theunissen Stadium.
