Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Ball St
Baseball Splits Again With Ball State
4/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 16, 2000
MUNCIE, IN--Another doubleheader with Ball State University produced the same result for the Central Michigan University baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Ball Diamond.
After splitting a pair of games on Saturday, Ball State won Sunday's opening game by an 8-6 count while Central took the nightcap, 9-6. With the split, CMU's record stands at 22-10 overall and 7-3 in the Mid-American Conference while the Cardinals are 17-15 overall and 5-5 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Chippewas opened the first game with two runs in the first inning on a Mike Gates (Canton/Fr.) single to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Ball State scored single runs in the first and second innings to even the score at 2-2 before the Chippewas scored two more runs when Gates slammed a two-run homer in the third to take the lead back at 4-2.
CMU didn't hold the lead for long as the Cardinals put four runs on the board in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. BSU added single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to make the score 8-4. The Chippewas scored a run in the sixth on a Jason Helps (Wyoming, Ontario/Jr.) solo home run and a run in the seventh on a Mike Steele (Midland/Sr.) RBI double to round out the scoring.
Adam Bolthouse (Spring Lake/Sr.) took the loss for the Chippewas to make his record 3-3. He went three innings and gave up seven hits and six runs (three earned) and struck out two. Jeff Garner (Hemlock/Fr.) and Pete Nemeth (Midland/Sr.) saw action in relief. Garner went 2 2/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs while Nemeth pitched the final 1/3 of an inning and didn't give up a hit.
Gates led the CMU 11-hit attack by going three-for-four with four RBI, a home run and one run scored. Helps hit two-for-four with a home run and Scott Pieratt (Mount Pleasant/Sr.) went two-for-four with a run scored.
The Chippewas' offense was in high gear in the nightcap, pounding out 14 hits and nine runs.
CMU again took the early lead with a solo home run by Helps in the third inning. BSU responded with three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead but the Chippewas tied it up with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth. Kevin Uzarski (Taylor/Sr.) scored a pair with a double while Helps had an RBI double.
CMU scored three more runs in the fifth to break the tie and take a 6-4 lead. Gates plated two on a single while Mike Galloway (St. Thomas, Ontario/Fr.) scored the other run on a wild pitch. Ball State wouldn't go quietly, scoring two in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-6. CMU secured the win with single runs in the sixth and seventh to make it 9-6. Galloway had an RBI single in the sixth while Uzarski had an RBI double in the seventh.
Dan Schell (Mount Pleasant/Sr.) had a career-best 12 strikeouts in picking up his third win on the season. He went the distance and gave up 10 hits and six runs (three earned).
Gates hit three-for-three with two RBI to again led the CMU offense. Helps went two-for-four with two RBI, a home run and a double while Uzarski went two-for-three with three RBI and two doubles.
CMU returns to action on April 19 when it hosts Oakland University.
