Central Michigan University Athletics
First-place Chippewas Face Key Week
4/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2004
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- Buoyed by outstanding pitching, the Central Michigan University baseball team stormed into first place in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference last week with a three-game sweep at the University of Toledo.
The Chippewas will have little time to enjoy it, though, as they have two big midweek games and three weekend home encounters with perennial MAC power Ball State University.
CMU plays at Oakland University (6-19) on Tuesday (3 p.m.) before hosting the University of Michigan (15-12) on Wednesday (3 p.m.). Ball State plays a three-game set at Theunissen Stadium on Friday-Sunday.
"We had an excellent weekend," said CMU head coach Steve Jaksa of the Toledo series. "We needed more consistency on the mound and we got it. We continued to hit and field the ball well.
"The big key is for us to stay hungry and I can see no reason why we wouldn't. We just have to prepare each week to be ready for the MAC games on Friday."
The Chippewas were prepared last week, winning by scores of 16-2, 3-2 and 8-3 over the Rockets.
CMU has now won five straight and eight of its last nine games to post a 5-1 record in the MAC and a 16-13 overall standard.
Ball State (16-13) is one of two teams tied for second in the MAC West. The Cardinals are 6-3 (.667), the same percentage as Eastern Michigan with a 4-2 mark.
Chippewa hurlers gave up just five earned runs in 36 innings last week for an impressive ERA of 1.25, lowering the team ERA for the season to 5.61.
"We had great pitching at Toledo," said Jaksa. " We had solid outings from all three starters and the guys out of the bullpen threw well, too."
All three CMU starters went at least six innings and none allowed more than three earned runs. T.J. Johnson (3-1) went eight innings and didn't allow an earned run in the 16-2 win while Ty Dunham (1-2) went six and one-third innings and gave up two earned runs in the 3-2 win. Ryan Cremeans (3-1) hurled six frames and gave up three earned runs in the 8-3 triumph.
The Chippewas are also home for MAC action the following week with MAC West foe, Northern Illinois, coming to town.
Week In ReviewCMU 16, Siena Heights 0Eight different CMU hurlers combined on a two-hit shutout, fanning 13 Saint batters and walking four. Jeff Opalewski (2-1) was the starter and winner. He tossed two scoreless innings and struck out four. Seven other pitchers went one inning each.
Jeremy Crum and Bryan Mitzel had three hits each with Mitzel driving in four runs. CMU had 17 singles among its 20 hits.
CMU 16, Toledo 2
T.J. Johnson (3-1) copped his third straight win, going eight innings and scattering seven hits. He allowed two unearned runs and struck out a career-high 11 batters against two walks. Jayson Ruhlman pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Chippewas pounded out 18 hits. Jim Geldhof had four hits and drove in five runs while Kurtis Wells added three hits and three RBI and David Latour Jr. three hits and four RBI.
CMU 3,Toledo 2
The Chippewas rallied for solo runs in the eighth and ninth for a one-run triumph. Jim Geldhof's single in the final frame was the difference.
Kurtis Wells and Geldhof had three hits each, and David Latour Jr. added two hits and two RBI.
Ty Dunham went the first six and one-third innings before being relieved by eventual winner Jayson Ruhlman (3-2) for one and two-thirds. David LeMieux went the final inning for his fifth save.
CMU 8, Toledo 3
CMU pounded four Rocket hurlers for 16 hits and rode solid pitching from a trio of hurlers for the win.
Ryan Cremeans (3-1) was the starter and winner, hurling the first six innings and giving up six hits and three earned runs. Jayson Ruhlman went two scoreless innings and David LeMieux the scoreless ninth.
Kurtis Wells had four hits and three RBI and Jim Geldhof chipped in with three hits.
Pitching Rotation
The Chippewas will throw senior right-hander Jeff Opalewski (2-1, 14.92) on Tuesday at Oakland.
CMU will use as many as four-to-six pitchers against Michigan on Wednesday. The weekend starters against Ball State figure to be T.J. Johnson on Friday, Ty Dunham on Saturday and Ryan Cremeans on Sunday.
Johnson's on a Roll
Senior lefty T.J. Johnson has allowed one earned run in his last 30 innings of pitching to lower his ERA from 6.73 to 2.27. He has four starts this season and has completed three.
T.J. shared MAC West "Pitcher of the Week" honors after defeating No. 8-ranked Notre Dame by a 4-1 margin. He went all nine innings in a 12-2 win over Bowling Green and eight innings in a 16-2 decision over Toledo last weekend.
Big Bats Keep on Rolling
The Chippewas raised their team batting average 13 points last week after collecting 65 hits in 159 at bats (.409). CMU started the week at .322 and is now hitting .335 as a team.
The Chippewas logged at least 11 hits in every game and averaged 10.7 runs. They won all four games.
In winning eight of the last nine games, CMU has averaged 11.7 runs per game and is hitting 138-of-342 (.404). The Chippewas have been in double figures in hits in all nine games and have scored 10 or more runs in six of the nine.
It's Better This Year
Through 29 games this season, CMU is ahead of its 2003 season in every key category:
*Hitting .287 in 2003/.335 in 2004*Pitching 6.09/5.61*Fielding .948/.957*Slugging .396/.471
Saving Another
Senior right-hander David LeMieux collected the 15th save of his career in CMU's 3-2 win at Toledo. He set a school record with 10 in 2003, and has five this season.
A Scoring Machine
Junior Jim Geldhof scored eight runs in four games last week and now has 46 for the season. He's on a pace to break the CMU mark of 75 and the MAC mark of 79.
The left-handed hitting third baseman from Troy also banged out 12 hits in 18 at bats last week for a nifty batting average of .667. He also drove in seven runs and stole a base.
Geldhof is second on the team in hitting with a .427 mark and leads in triples (four) and tied for the lead in doubles (10).
Friendly Battle
Cleanup hitter Kurtis Wells and three-hole batter Jim Geldhof are two of the premier hitters in the MAC and they're battling for the team lead in hitting.
The left-handed hitting first baseman went 12-for-17 (.706) last week to raise his batting average to a team-best .433 -- six points ahead of Geldhof's .427.
The 6-5 junior leads the team in RBI (43) and is tied with Geldhof in doubles with 10.
Wells is on a pace to break the CMU mark of 65 set by Toby Kominek in 1995.
Don't Forget David
Junior second baseman David Latour Jr. has claimed the No. 5 hole in the CMU batting lineup with a vengeance. He has had 14 hits in his last 27 at bats to raise his average to .409.
Last week, Latour went 7-for-15 and drove in eight runs. He's fourth on the team in RBI with 26 even though he's batted only 66 times -- not enough to qualify for the MAC stats (he needs 2.5 at bats for each team game).
Mitzel Keeps Hitting
Redshirt freshman Bryan Mitzel pounded out seven hits in 16 at bats last week to raise his average to .356. The right-handed hitting outfield/designated hitter is tops in homers (six) and third in RBI (31).
In the past two weeks, Bryan is 18-of-39 with 14 RBI.
Ruhlman Bounces Back
Redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Jayson Ruhlman bounced back from his worst outing of the season with three excellent performances last week.
After allowing five runs in one and one-third innings of relief in an 11-10 loss to Bowling Green on April 3, Ruhlman pitched four and two-third innings in three games and and didn't allow a run last week. He struck out seven, walked two and got the win in CMU's 3-2 decision over Toledo.
Scoring More Runs
CMU averaged 6.6 runs per game in 2003 and has upped that to 8.6 in 2004. The Chippewas have not been shutout this season and have been held under four runs just six times.
Pitchers Shine
CMU pitchers posted a team ERA of 1.25 last week and held opposing batters to a .182 average in winning all four games.
The Chippewas gave up five earned runs in 36 innings and allowed just 23 hits. CMU fanned 47 batters and walked just 13 -- the same number it walked in an 11-10 loss to Bowling Green on April 3.
The team ERA dropped from 6.36 to 5.61.
Checking MAC Stats
CMU is first in batting (.335), seventh in fielding (.957) and ninth in pitching (5.61 ERA).
The Chippewas are also first in runs scored with 253 and on-base percentage (.417). CMU has four hitters in the top 20 -- Kurtis Wells first (.433), Jim Geldhof second (.427), Bryan Mitzel 16th (.356) and Jeremy Crum 18th (.351).
Wells is also second in RBI (1.48/game) and hits (1.79), fifth in on-base percentage (.489), tied for fifth in doubles (.34), sixth in total bases (2.59) and 10th in slugging percentage (.625).
Geldhof is first in hits (1.83) and runs scored (1.59), second in triples (.14) and total bases (2.76), fourth in RBI (1.28), stolen bases (.45) and slugging percentage (.645) and ninth in on-base percentage (.471).
Crum is fifth in walks (.71) and Mitzel is seventh in slugging percentage (.674) and eighth in RBI (1.19).
T.J. Johnson is sixth in ERA with a 2.27. He's first in complete games with three and sixth in opponent batting average (.231) and strikeouts (8.45).
David LeMieux is second in saves with five.
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are second in pitching (3.93), third in fielding (.968) and sixth in the MAC in hitting (.287).
Mike Sullivan is ninth in the MAC in batting at .393, Marc Franz is 10th at .389 and Brad Miller 15th at .361.
Ryan DeGreeter (3-0) has the top ERA in the MAC at 1.45 while Joe Ness (5-1, 3.52), Mike Johnston (2-3, 3.52) and Andrew Anderson (3-2, 3.92) are among the top 20 pitchers in the MAC.
Series Look
CMU holds a 22-0 lead in the series with Oakland, winning both games at home last year by the scores of 8-6 and 4-3.
Michigan holds a 32-27 lead over the Chippewas. The teams split last season, CMU winning 12-8 and UM claiming a 15-6 victory.
CMU holds a 69-36 lead in the series with Ball State. The Cardinals won three-of-four played in Muncie last season.
CMU Ticket Policy
Tickets for Chippewa home games are $5 for adults and $4 for seniors (55 and over) and youth. Season tickets are $50 for adults and $40 for seniors, youth and CMU staff members.
Used to Winning
Central Michigan University has the winningest program in the Midwest since 1970. The Chippewas have a record of 1,160-615 (.654) in the past 34 seasons while Minnesota is second (.643), Notre Dame third (.635), Michigan fourth (.608) and Ohio State fifth (.606).
MAC's Best
CMU enters 2004 with the best all-time baseball record in the MAC at 475-289-1 (.622). The Chippewas have won 11 titles and two tourney crowns.
MAC West 'Players of the Week'
Following is the CMU player honored by the MAC this spring:
MAC West PitcherMarch 29 T.J. JohnsonApril 12 T.J. Johnson
