Central Michigan University Athletics
Former Chippewa Draws Opening Day Start
4/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
We remember moments, not days.
One comes annually for Steve Jaksa, another will come Monday. And they'll keep coming for long after that.
Jaksa, the Central Michigan baseball coach, will watch Monday as former Chippewa Josh Collmenter starts the Arizona Diamonbacks' season opener against the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Collmenter, a 29-year-old right-hander in his fourth year in Major League Baseball, joins an exclusive list of former Chippewas to land the coveted opening-day role for a major league team. Included on that list are Kevin Tapani and Curt Young.
For Collmenter, the opening day start puts him the category of ace. Most teams start their best pitcher in their opener and Collmenter's success is, naturally, a source of pride for Jaksa and the Chippewa program.
"We've had big leaguers, guys win World Series rings, and I know that's (starting opening day) a great accomplishment," said Jaksa, who added he keeps in touch with Collmenter, who played at CMU from 2005-07, mainly through text messages. "He doesn't take himself too seriously. He doesn't put himself above anybody. He has the same college friends, keeps in touch with everybody from Homer (his hometown).
"He's one of that community. They embrace him and he embraces them right back. He's always shown tremendous character and tremendous heart. When he goes out there and pitches, he knows how to compete, he knows how to get people out."
Collmenter had a standout career at Homer High School, leading the Trojans to the 2004 state championship. He ranks second in state history with 49 victories, and he holds state prep records for career shutouts (23) and season shutouts (13 in 2004).
Collmenter remains first on CMU's career strikeout list with 288, 117 of which came in 2007. That mark is second for a single season in Chippewa history. He is fourth on CMU's career wins list with 24, third in innings pitched (301), and ninth in earned run average (2.63).
He was a three-time All-MAC selection, was named to the Freshman All-America team in 2005, and earned Third Team All-America honors and was named MAC Pitcher of the Year in 2007.
He was drafted in the 15th round in 2007 by the Diamondbacks and worked his way through the system, arriving with the big club in 2011. His career record is 31-27 with a 3.42 ERA.
"Those (pitching) staffs were pretty good," Jaksa recalled of Collmenter's days in a Chippewa uniform. "He was tremendously dominant, just really dominant. He lost one game as a Friday starter, and that was a 2-1 loss at Ball State, the last series of the year.
"He was the kind of guy who would take in everything. Good teammate, had fun, got along with everybody. When it was time to compete and pitch, he did that.
"You can have a good time, you can laugh and enjoy a conversation and all that stuff, but at the end of the day he knew how to win, he went out and competed and he made the team better every time he was out there."
In fact, Jaksa said, one of his most indelible memories of Collmenter came not from anything he did on the mound, but what he said off it in the midst of the Chippewas' alumni day while Collmenter was a player at Theunissen Stadium.
"He said, `Coach you love this day don't you?'" Jaksa recalled. "I nodded and said, `yeah, it means a lot.'
"He was a mature kid and he carries that maturity now. He knew the game and as far as pitching and learning the traditions of Central Michigan baseball, he was really keen on that."
And Collmenter is a major part of the legacy of the program, and continues to add to that with everything he does at baseball's highest level.
"The bigger stage the better he is," Jaksa said. "It's just unbelievable. You look at his first start in Double-A, his first start in Triple-A, his first start in the big leagues, his first start at Central Michichigan.
"He handles the situation and doesn't let the situation get too big. That's one of the things that separates him. I knew that given the opportunity, he was going to succeed."
