Leatherman Starts Tourney Opener For CMU
5/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Certainly, the Central Michigan baseball team amassed its share of accomplishments in the 2017 season. A Mid-American Conference West Division title and a No. 2 seed in the league tournament top that list.
Water under the bridge, according to veteran Chippewa coach Steve Jaksa, whose team came within a win of playing for the championship a year ago.
"A good share of these guys were there last year and understand it, and how it works, and they understand how close they were," Jaksa said. "Just because you're the 2 seed, nobody's going to hand it to you. You've got to go in there and earn it."
The eight-team double-elimination tournament at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio, begins on Wednesday with four games involving all eight teams. The Chippewas (29-26) are slated to open against seventh-seeded Northern Illinois (17-36) at 1 p.m.
The remainder of CMU's side of bracket comprises third-seeded Eastern Michigan (23-33) and sixth-seeded Western Michigan (23-27). The losers will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, the winners at 4:30 p.m.
The Chippewas went 2-1 in the regular season against both NIU and Western Michigan. CMU and Eastern Michigan did not meet.
The other side of the bracket features top-seeded Kent State, the regular-season champion; eighth-seeded Toledo, fifth-seeded Ohio, and fourth-seeded Ball State.
The teams that win two games to open the tournament are at a major advantage. Those two teams, one on each side of the bracket, enjoy a day off on Friday - resting their respective pitching staffs -- while the remainder of the field slugs it out in elimination games.
CMU closed the regular season over the weekend by dropping two of three to Ball State, losing just their second MAC series of the season. The Chippewas' other series loss came at Kent State. They won six of eight MAC series this season, finishing 16-8 in league play. The Chippewas were 10-14 at one time this season, but have won 19 of their last 31 games.
"We're battled-tested," Jaksa said. "We've been through a lot of things. We've fought hard, we've been in a lot of tough series that put you in a certain framework to understand what you can do. If we can stay in that framework mentally and play with the good heart we have, I like our chances.
"We've got a good character group of guys and we have to go there with energy and make sure we're ready to play. I think we've got good character guys. I'll take my chances with this team."
Pat Leatherman will start for the Chippewas in the tourney opener against NIU. Leatherman is 6-4 with a 4.08 ERA, but has been as good as any pitcher in the MAC over the past two months, during which he is 5-1 with a 2.15 ERA
"He'll know what he needs to do to get it done and he'll be able to handle whatever's thrown at him," Jaksa said. "He'll answer the bell, and I truly believe all of our guys will. We'll be ready to go. I feel really good about that."
