Baseball Opens Season At Minnesota

Feb. 5, 2001

MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan University's baseball team will get its earliest start in history when it plays three games against the University of Minnesota on Feb. 11-12 in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.

Coach Judd Folske's Chippewas will play a single, nine-inning game on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. (CST) and then will play twice Monday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. (CST).

"This is a fantastic opportunity for our young men," Folske said. "We're playing indoors against an excellent team. It will give us a great measuring stick as to where we are right now and will give us some games before we head to Florida."

Minnesota, 38-24 overall and 20-8 in the Big Ten in 2000, was ranked 24th in Baseball America's preseason poll. CMU was 41-17 and 18-8 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) last season.

The Chippewas begin their spring trip to Florida on March 2-4 with a three-game set at the University of Florida (ranked 14th in the country).

"In the past, we'd go on our spring trips and play our first game against teams that have already played a dozen games or more," Folske said. "This will give us a nice break from our indoor workouts and help us get ready for the Florida trip."

Folske is anxious to see how his young pitching staff does against the Gophers.

"We're a young and athletic team," Folske said. "How fast our pitching staff comes along could be the key for this team. We've accomplished a lot in individual drills. Now it's a matter of seeing how they come together as a team."

While the Chippewas return veterans at most positions, the big question mark is pitching where five seniors who posted a record of 28-10 are gone.

Following is CMU's projected starting lineup for Minnesota:

Pos./Name (Hometown/Last School/Class) - 2000 Stats (BA/HR/RBI)

1B/*Mike Gates (Canton/Flushing/So.) - .305/7/42

2B/Tim Groves (Mount Pleasant /Sacred Heart/So.) - .353/0/7

3B/*Tim Bullinger (Jackson/Hendrix College/Jr.) - .275/0/24

SS/*Jason Helps (Wyoming, Ont./St. Clair CC/Sr.) - .266/4/22

LF/*Bryan Scheurer (Portland/Grand Rapids CC/Sr.) - .252/2/9

CF/*Matt Crowley (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids CC/Sr.) - .376/7/30

RF/Ryan Krueger (Alpena/So.) - .344/0/5

C/Scott Pickens (Mount Pleasant/Jr.) - .125/0/2

*Mike Galloway (St. Thomas, Ont./Central/So.) - .376/11/47