Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Open Five-Game Homestand Against Oakland
3/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT — After playing its first 17 games on the road, the Central Michigan University baseball team is scheduled to make its first appearance at Theunissen Stadium on Tuesday against Oakland. First pitch of the home opener is at 3 p.m.
The opener is the first game in a five-game homestand for the Chippewas, who host IPFW on Wednesday and Buffalo in a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend.
“There is definitely some excitement with the guys about being able to play at home,” said head coach Steve Jaksa. “The field is in great shape, and we’re just looking forward to getting out there and playing.”
The Chippewas enter the home opener 7-10 overall. Kansas State, ranked 28th in last week’s National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, swept a three-game series from CMU last weekend.
“We look at the season as being a series of phases, and the first phase is now complete,” Jaksa said. “We can’t change anything that happened during that phase. We set up the schedule to see what our guys are all about. I think we found out that we can be a pretty good team if we show up ready to play every day.”
During the challenging early schedule that featured a pair of nationally ranked teams, CMU has played no less than 11 games decided by two runs or less. The Chippewas have posted a 4-7 mark in those contests.
“Our guys are very confident that they can deliver in those situations,” Jaksa said. “They know the game is not over until the other team records that 27th out against you.”
This week’s five-game homestand also opens a stretch of the schedule that sees CMU play eight of its next nine at home. After visiting Notre Dame for a midweek game next Tuesday, the Chippewas return to Theunissen Stadium to host defending MAC regular season champion Kent State for a three-game series March 30-April 1.
Follow the Chippewas: Fans can follow the Chippewas either on the radio or on the web this week. WMHW 91.5 FM will air Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games, while WMMI 830 AM will broadcast the weekend series against Buffalo. All five broadcasts will also be streamed live online through the CMU Sports Zone on cmuchippewas.com. Live stats from each game will also be available on cmuchippewas.com.
The Series: CMU holds leads in the all-time series against each of the three opponents it will meet this week. The Chippewas are 26-2 all-time against Oakland, 5-1 against IPFW and 10-1 against Buffalo. CMU has posted three-game sweeps of Buffalo each of the past three seasons, including out-scoring the Bulls 25-0 in a three-game sweep at UB last season. In 2006, the Chippewas took a pair of games against Oakland and split two games with IPFW.
The Big Hitter: Bryan Mitzel’s solo home run in the series opener at Kansas State was the 42nd of his career, establishing a new career home run record at CMU. He eclipsed Doug Fisher’s mark of 41 round-trippers from 1983-86. Mitzel is also the school’s all-time leader in doubles (53), runs batted in (190) and extra base hits (98).
Stovall Stays Hot: Tyler Stovall, batting. 480, already has more hits this season (24), than in either of his first two seasons (19 in 2005, 21 in 2006). He is 24-for-50 with 12 runs and 12 RBI in 2007. Stovall, who has played in 15 of CMU’s 17 games, has at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games, with eight of those being multiple-hit games.
Close Calls: Eleven of CMU’s 17 games this season have been decided by two runs or less, including six one-run games. The Chippewas are 4-7 in those 11 games decided by two runs or less. In 2006, CMU was 10-7 in games decided by two runs or less.
K’s for Collmenter: Josh Collmenter struck out 10 UAB hitters in six innings of work on opening day. It was the sixth time in his career that he struck out at least 10 hitters in a start. For the season, Collmenter has fanned 31 batters in 32-2/3 innings over five starts. He enters this week 10th all-time at CMU with 202 strikeouts.
Pitching Prowess: CMU ranks first or second in the MAC in several statistical categories. The Chippewas lead the conference in ERA (3.99) and rank second in opponent’s batting average (.258), strikeouts (113) and strikeouts per nine innings (6.93).
Scouting the MAC Stats: Ben Humphrey’s four home runs entering this week are the most in the Mid-American Conference. Tyler Stovall leads the conference in batting average (.480) and on-base percentage (.563). On the mound, Josh Collmenter leads the MAC in strikeouts (31), while Eric Lawrence and Bryce Morrow are tied with five other players for second with two saves apiece.
CMU Tabbed No. 1: For the third year in a row, CMU has been picked to win the MAC West Division in the conference’s preseason coaches poll. CMU has also been selected as the favorite to win the MAC Tournament in May. CMU won the West Division by one-half game over eventual conference tournament champ Ball State in 2006.
All-MACs Back: CMU returns three players who were named to the 2006 All-MAC team. Outfielder Bryan Mitzel and first baseman Ben Humphrey were first team all-conference honorees, and pitcher Josh Collmenter was a second team selection.
Coming Up: CMU’s home opener on Tuesday is the first game in a five-game homestand for CMU. The Chippewas are at home the next two weekends, hosting Buffalo and Kent State in three-game MAC series.
