Central Michigan University Athletics
Series Preview: CMU Looks to Protect Division Lead at NIU
4/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
DeKALB, Ill. – The Central Michigan University baseball team will attempt to remain atop the West Division of the Mid-American Conference this weekend when it plays a three-game series at Northern Illinois.
The Chippewas are 23-14 overall, 10-2 MAC. They lead the West by one-half game over Ball State, which is 9-2 in league play. Northern Illinois is 9-26-1, 5-7.
CMU, which claimed a 7-5 non-league win Wednesday over Michigan State, took two of three games from Bowling Green last weekend in a MAC series. Northern Illinois captured two of three at the same time from Eastern Michigan, and was swept by Bradley in a non-league doubleheader on Wednesday.
The Chippewas’ pitching rotation will remain as it has been through the first four weekends of MAC play with Jordan Foley starting Friday’s opener, Pat Kaminska slated to go on Saturday, and Nick Deeg scheduled to start Sunday’s finale.
Foley, a junior right-hander, is 4-2 with a 3.19 earned run average. He will oppose senior left-hander Anthony Andres (3-4, 3.30).
Kaminska (6-1, 1.90) will square off against Eli Anderson (1-5, 4.42) in a matchup of senior right-handers.
Deeg (3-3, 4.26), a freshman left-hander, will face senior right-hander Alex Klonowski (1-3, 3.31) in Sunday’s finale.
Kaminska is second in the MAC in ERA and in innings pitched (61 2/3), while Foley is third in the league with 57 strikeouts and fourth in innings pitching (59 1/3).
The Chippewa bullpen has been dependably solid, with Tim Black notching five saves, tying him for second in the league; and Matt Trowbridge posting four, tied for fourth.
CMU’s pitching staff sports a best-in-the-MAC 3.05 ERA.
Justin Fletcher leads the Huskie hitters with a .317 batting average. He also tops NIU in extra-base hits with 10 (six doubles, four triples) and is second in RBI (14). Klonowski, who plays infield when he isn’t pitching, is NIU’s top RBI man with 15.
Three Chippewas, Cody Leichman, Logan Regnier and Tyler Huntey, are hitting better than .300.
Leichman is at .351 with a team-high four home runs and 36 RBI; Regnier is hitting .345 with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts; and Huntey, the reigning MAC West Player of the Week, is hitting .317 with two homers and 36 RBI.
Huntey and Leichman share the team lead in RBI and rank second in the MAC in that category, and Leichman’s .534 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the league.
Logan Regnier tops the MAC in runs scored with 37, and is fourth with 50 hits. His brother, Nick Regnier, the Chippewas’ leadoff man, leads the league – and ranks fourth nationally -- with 22 stolen bases and is second with 35 run scored.
CMU’s Pat MacKenzie is tops in the conference with 29 walks.
| Central Michigan (23-14, 10-2 MAC) at Northern Illinois (9-26-1, 5-7 MAC) Friday, April 18 ♦ 4:05 p.m. ♦ DeKalb, Ill. ♦ Ralph McKinzie Field Series Coverage | ||||||||
| Projected Pitching Matchups | ||||||||
| | CMU | Record | ERA | | NIU | Record | ERA | |
| Game 1 | RHP Jordan Foley (Jr.) | 4-2 | 3.19 | vs. | LHP Anthony Andres | 3-4 | 3.30 | |
| Game 2 | RHP Pat Kaminska (Sr.) | 6-1 | 1.90 | vs. | RHP Eli Anderson | 1-5 | 4.42 | |
| Game 3 | LHP Nick Deeg (Fr.) | 3-3 | 4.26 | vs. | RHP Alex Klonowski | 1-3 | 3.31 | |
| Top Hitters | | | | | | | ||
| | CMU | Avg. | Other | | BGSU | Avg. | Other | |
| | Cody Leichman (Jr.) | .351 | 15 XBH, 36 RBI | | Justin Fletcher | .317 | 44 H, 14 RBI | |
| | Logan Regnier (So.) | .345 | 50 H, 15 SB | | Brian Sisler | .277 | 31 H, 13 RBI | |
| | Tyler Huntey (Jr.) | .317 | 10 XBH, 36 RBI | | Alex Klonowski | .234 | 6 XBH, 15 RBI | |
| Mount Pleasant, Mich. - |
