Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
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Saginaw Valley State
Cole Solid In First Start; Chippewas Snap Losing Skid
4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - First start, first win, first save.
Freshman Dazon Cole got his first collegiate start and his first win, and Morgan Oliver worked the ninth inning for his first save as the Central Michigan baseball team downed Saginaw Valley State, 7-4, in a non-conference game Tuesday at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas (6-23) snapped a five-game losing streak. They play host to Oakland (12-11) in a non-leaguer Wednesday at 3:05 p.m. then head to Northern Illinois for a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend.
Cole (1-1), a right-hander, allowed just one hit over five innings. He struck out three and walked four.
"I haven't started in a game since my senior year of high school," said Cole, a 2014 graduate of West Bloomfield High School. "It brought back a lot of memories and a lot of excitement to get the ball in the first inning."
It was the second-straight solid mound performance for Cole, who went 3 1/3 innings in a relief role last week at Michigan.
"Coach told me to be aggressive," Cole said. "In high school I was aggressive and that's what he liked about me. I've found success in my last two outings and all I can do is just go out there and be aggressive, so that's what I'll be doing."
Oliver, who started the game at third base and had two hits and drove in two runs, pitched the ninth for his first collegiate save. It was his third career mound appearance, all of which have come in the last week.
Jimmy McNamara and Brady Williams also pitched in relief for the Chippewas.
CMU built a 7-0 lead through six innings. Jason Sullivan finished with three hits including a pair of doubles, to lead CMU's nine-hit attack, while Daniel Jipping added two hits.
Sullivan, Ryan Heeke and Robert Greenman drove in a run apiece.
The victory came after the Chippewas were swept in a three-game series at Missouri State.
"I think it gives us a rewarding feeling," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "I actually think that we played pretty well at Missouri State. We pitched very well in two of those three games. In only one game did we fall down early.
"You like to see the guys rewarded a little bit for something they work hard for, and today was a good win because of that. We did some good things offensively."
Cole allowed just two base runners - both on walks - until Adam Fitzgibbon singled to lead off the fourth inning. Two Cardinals reached in the fifth on an error and a walk, and both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Cole stranded the runners when he induced an inning-ending fly ball.
He threw 78 pitches, which was in the neighborhood of his limit, Jaksa said.
"That's back-to-back good performances and that's building off the last time he went three-plus innings in Michigan," Jaksa said. "He was again able to throw multiple pitches for strikes. The more consistent he can be at doing that, the better he's going to be.
"He's a big strong kid and he's starting to do some of the things that we thought he could do and that he thought he could do and you can see that his confidence is growing."
Saginaw Valley starter Max Ludka (0-3) took the loss. He went four innings, allowing three runs on five hits. The Cardinals are 11-15.
