Central Michigan University
Rhode Island
Cairns Leads Baseball to 5-1 Win Over Rhode Island
3/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 11, 2005
BRADENTON, Fla. - A strong outing by senior pitcher Jason Cairns led the Central Michigan University baseball team to its fifth straight win with a 5-1 victory over Rhode Island on Friday afternoon.
The Chippewas are now 8-5 on the season. They are 5-1 on the spring trip and have won eight of their last nine.
The right-hander Cairns went 7 1/3 innings for the Chippewas, limiting the Rams to just one run on seven hits while striking out seven. Cairns out dueled junior All-American Zack Zuercher to improve to 2-1 this season. Zuercher went 5 innings while allowing one run and seven hits.
Picking up his second save of the season was junior Nathan Pung with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Pung allowed just one hit while striking out one. He has not allowed an earned run in 8 2/3 innings of work this year.
After the Rams jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the first, the Chippewas tied things up in the third when Ryan Peel scored on a Troy Moratti single. Moratti finished the day 3-5 with one RBI. He began the day with three straight hits to extend his streak to seven before finishing the day hitless in his final two atbats.
The Maroon and Gold took the lead for good in the sixth with a two out double by J.T. Jones. Bryan Mitzel and Kurtis Wells scored on the play. CMU extended its lead with a single run in the seventh and again in the ninth. Wells scored Jim Geldhof with a single in the seventh with Geldhof scoring again off a Ryan Peel single in the ninth.
Jones finished the day 2-4 at the plate with the two RBI while Mitzel was 2-5 with the one run scored. CMU outhit Rhode Island, 13-8, with both squad's making one error.
The Chippewas finish the spring journey with a game against Holy Cross tomorrow, March 12, at 10 a.m.
