Central Michigan University
Bowling Green
Chippewa Bats Silenced in Loss to Bowling Green
4/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan baseball team was limited to a season-low three hits Sunday as Bowling Green handed the Chippewas a 5-1 Mid-American Conference loss at Theunissen Stadium.
The win gave the Falcons the series win and it marked the first time the Chippewas have dropped a MAC series this season.
CMU, which plays host to Northern Illinois in a three-game league series next weekend, is 28-15 overall and leads the league at 13-5. Kent State and Ohio are two games back at 11-7.
"I don't look at what spot we're in," said CMU coach Steve Jaksa, whose team has nine conference games remaining, the final six on the road. "Now when you look at it, yeah everybody will be a little closer to us and it's not going to change for Northern Illinois. They're going to play their butts off to beat us.
"Just like (Bowling Green) did, just like Buffalo did (last weekend). When you're at the top that's what teams below you are going to do.
"That's the task you're given when you're in the position you're at. People are going to play a certain way against you."
Freshman Zac Carey held the Chippewas in check over 7 1/3 innings on Sunday. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out one. CMU's run was unearned. Kody Brown went the final 1 2/3 innings.
CMU got a pinch-hit double from Morgan Oliver in the eighth inning and singles from Logan Regnier and Alex Borglin. Pat MacKenzie drove in the Chippewas' run with a fifth-inning groundout.
"We just didn't square up enough balls, and the ones we did square up we hit right at somebody," Jaksa said. "That's this game sometimes. Today might have been one of those days.
"I felt we played hard and did some good things. The defense was solid and guys were ready to play. For us we've got to go back and grind it out and kind of see what you're made of as you go forward."
Adam Aldred, who had pitched a complete game three-hitter last Sunday at Buffalo, allowed three runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings. Sean Martens and Tim Black worked in relief for CMU, which was outhit 16-3.
Greg Basalyga had three hits and drove in three runs to lead Bowling Green (16-22, 9-9), which has won nine of its last 13 conference games.
"He really didn't pitch poorly," Jaksa said of Aldred (3-2). "They just had a really good approach against him, I felt. That's a credit to them. I thought they swung the bat well all weekend."
Bowling Green, which stranded 10 base runners, built a 4-0 lead through five innings.
"We're in the race," Jaksa said. "We're going to be one of three or four that are going to be in the race and we've got to take care of our own business and continue to pitch it well and get a couple guys on track on the mound and continue to play our style.
"We've got a good approach. We've got to stick to what we're doing. We just didn't get enough going. A couple guys who swung the bat well on Friday and Saturday didn't swing it as well today."
CMU plays a non-league game at Oakland on Wednesday.
