Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Chippewas, Eastern Meet In Elimination Game
5/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
AVON, Ohio - It's down to elimination time for Central Michigan at the Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament at Sprenger Stadium.
Eastern Michigan collected 10 hits and took advantage of six walks and three hit batsmen by CMU pitching on Saturday as the Eagles handed the Chippewas a 9-1 loss.
The Chippewas, who are seeded second, and Eagles are scheduled to meet Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in an elimination game. Sophomore right-hander Michael Brettell (6-5) will start for CMU against Kevin Shul (1-1).
The winner plays either Ohio or Kent State on Sunday for the championship.
CMU starter Dazon Cole issued back-to-back walks to open the Saturday morning game, triggering a three-run first inning for the Eagles (26-34), who were seeded third.
Cole lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits. Five Chippewas - Jordan Grosjean, Zach Kohn, Jake Raether, Braxton Markle and Jack Collins - followed Cole to the mound.
Eastern led, 5-0, through four innings and added three more in the seventh.
"We just never pitched the ball very well today across the board," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "We had glimpses of good things, Dazon showed glimpses, but we gift-wrapped too many things, too many freebees for them.
"Would have been nice if we lived in the (strike) zone a little bit better today. (Cole) wasn't at the top of his game today. That's all. It wasn't that he wasn't ready. It wasn't that for any of those guys. Just weren't at the top of their games. I know there's disappointment there; it's an opportunity for growth."
Eastern sophomore Davis Feldman (2-5) pitched perhaps the game of his career, going the distance for his first complete game. He struck out five, walked two and allowed five hits.
The Chippewas' run came in the eighth inning on a David Cole pinch-hit sacrifice fly.
"I thought we had urgency in that game," Jaksa said. "Their kid pitched a hell of a ball game for them, did a heck of a job. That's a credit to him. He really gave them a lot of energy the way he pitched and the balls we did hit hard - I thought we did hit three or four hard - we hit right at people.
"We've got to regroup a little bit and it's a matter of putting this one behind us in the next couple hours and understand that we're going to play the same team, it's going to be a different arm, and we've got to attack a little bit better across the board."
