Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
CMU-EMU Split MAC Twinbill
4/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 13, 2002
YPSILANTI - Central Michigan rode the pitching of senior right-hander Chad Pleiness to a 3-1 win in the opener of a Mid-American Conference twinbill with Eastern Michigan here Saturday. The Eagles came back to post a 12-5 win in the nightcap.
The Chippewas are now 17-11 for the season and 7-4 in MAC action while EMU is 15-17 and 8-3. The series concludes on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.
In game one, the Chippewas claimed a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Tommy Grubb doubled and rode home on Mike Gates' sixth homer of the season, a bomb to right center on a 3-2 pitch from EMU's Joe Linde.
CMU upped the lead to 3-0 in the top of the seventh with a solo home run to center by David Latour, his third of the season.
Senior right-hander Chad Pleiness hurled a gem for the Chippewas, giving up just five hits and losing his shutout with one out in the seventh on a solo homer by Luke Beeler. He walked two and struck out eight to raise his record to 3-1.
Latour had three of Central's six hits, his second three-hit game in the last week.
The Eagles exploded from the blocks with four runs in the second game, two on a homer by Ryan Goleski (13). Three walks and a hit-batsman sent starter Jeff Garner to an early shower.
Central battled back with two runs in the top of the second, one on an RBI double by Ryan Krueger and another on a bounce out by Latour. The Chippewas tied it up in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer off the bat of Krueger.
EMU scored a run on a pair of doubles in the fourth to regain the lead, 5-4. The first was a high pop into shallow right that could have been caught.
The Eagles broke it open with three in the sixth, two on Goleski's second homer of the game and 14th of the year, and three in the seventh.
Central wrapped up its scoring with a solo homer in the eighth inning by Danny Gibbons, his first.
The Chippewas play at Notre Dame on Monday with a single game at 6 p.m. (CDT).
