Central Michigan University Athletics
Baseball Back In Action
3/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan University's baseball team begins the northern portion of its 2000 schedule this week with seven games on tap including the Mid-American Conference (MAC) openers.
The Chippewas are slated to play at Notre Dame on Tuesday, March 28, at 5 p.m., before home encounters with Saginaw Valley and Wayne State on Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m.
Coach Judd Folske's charges, 11-6 for the season, will then launch MAC play at Ohio on Saturday, April 1, and at Marshall on Sunday, April 2, with a pair of twinbills.
"It's important that we get our games in this week," Folske said. "The weather forecast is not great but we need to play to get ready for this weekend.
"We've played well thus far but it really doesn't mean that much if we don't get it done in MAC play. I think we can make a legitimate run at the title this season."
Central Michigan has had a week off since winning the prestigious Continental Express Aggie Baseball Classic at Texas A & M. The Chippewas posted a record of 4-2 in the three-day tourney that ended on March 20, claiming a pair of wins over the host Aggies and splitting with Ohio State and Oregon State.
"We showed we can play with some of the nation's better teams," Folske said. "Our pitching was solid and we played good defense. It's just a matter of keeping it going up north."
The weather agreed with the Chippewas last week, allowing them to get outside for practice three times.
Folske plans on using a trio of senior right-handers at Notre Dame - Mike Fawcett (Marquette), Mike Steele (Midland) and Dan Schell (Mount Pleasant). Fawcett is 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA while Steele is 2-0 at 2.11 and Schell is 2-0 at 2.70.
The two teams met in Florida on March 11 with the Irish capturing a 5-0 win.
The Chippewas were 1-11 after a pair of southern trips last season en route to a 24-32 record - the first losing season since 1964.
One of the big reasons for the improvement to 11-6 after two spring trips has been the fielding. CMU fielded a woeful .941 last season, allowing 90 unearned runs. This year, the Chippewas are at .969 and have given up just 12 unearned runs.
Another big factor has been improved play behind the plate. Last season, Central was charged with 16 passed balls and Chippewa hurlers had 52 wild pitches. Nearly one-third of the way through this season, CMU has three passed balls and five wild pitches.
Senior Shaun Gragg (Grant) and sophomore Scott Pickens (Mount Pleasant) have shared the plate duties.
The CMU offense is comparable to last season when it batted .292 with 52 homers. This year's team is at .289 with 14 roundtrippers.
CHIPPEWA NOTES - CMU placed three players on the all-tourney team at Texas A & M. Freshman first baseman/designated hitter Mike Galloway (St. Thomas, Ont.), senior outfielder Jake Sanborn (Grand Ledge) and Steele earned the honor.
Galloway was also named the MVP after hitting .438 with eight RBI and two homers. He was seven-for-16 at the plate.
Sanborn batted .318 (seven-of 22) and scored five runs while Steele tossed a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over Texas A & M.
Galloway and Steele share the team lead in batting with a .412 mark while Galloway is tops in RBI with 13 and Kevin Uzarski (Taylor/Sr.) is second with 12. Galloway and Matt Crowley (Grand Rapids/Jr.) share the lead in homers with three.
Fawcett has been a workhorse this season with three complete games in three starts. He's 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA and owns wins over Michigan (11-6), South Alabama (7-2) and Texas A & M (5-3). Fawcett, who had four complete games in 13 starts a year ago, also picked up a save by working three shutout innings in a 9-3 win over Iowa.
Schell and Steele also tossed complete games at Texas A & M - Schell a 3-2 decision over Ohio State and Steele the 5-0 win over A & M.
