Cam The Man: Brown Dominates As Chippewas Advance
5/25/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
AVON, Ohio - In a year that has required the Central Michigan baseball team to dig deeper and deeper, the Chippewas came up with gold again.
Cam Brown turned in an absolute gem when his team most needed it on Friday as the Chippewas downed Ball State, 7-2, in an elimination game at the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Sprenger Stadium.
Brown (4-1), a sophomore right-hander, was sensational in just the third start of his career. He allowed six hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter.
"Cam Brown just did a whale of a job and we played really good defense," CMU coach Steve Jaksa said. "Really, really pleased with how he was, his composure out there.
"He just kept getting ground ball after ground ball and they weren't hit hard so we were able to leave him in there and get a complete game, which is huge at this time in the tournament. Still playing ball. We get to live `til tomorrow. That's all you can do."
It was the second elimination-game win of the day for the Chippewas, who will play either Miami (Ohio) or Kent State on Saturday (12:30 p.m.). The winner of that game advances to the title game on Saturday night.
After knocking off Toledo, 6-5, earlier on Thursday, the Chippewas seized a 1-0 lead on Jason Sullivan's RBI ground-rule double in the first inning. They added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and then padded their lead with a three-run seventh and another insurance run in the eighth.
It was more than enough for Brown, who threw just 97 pitches in his first career complete game. He said he didn't know that he would take the mound until about 30 minutes before game time.
"Coach came down to the bullpen, tossed me the ball and he goes, `You got 35 minutes,'" Brown said. "It (pressure) was there, it was definitely there. I went in with a chip on my shoulder because it's an elimination game. I kind of went with a mindset that there was a chance I might start that game; just kind of preparing for it. When I got the ball I was ready."
Brown set down in order the first 10 batters he faced before surrendering a one-out single in the fourth inning. The Cardinals (32-26) got a run in the fifth, but Brown limited the damaging by stranding two runners in scoring position and to preserve a 2-1 lead.
Ball State scored an unearned run in the seventh, cutting CMU's lead to 6-2. By then, Brown was in high gear.
"I looked out there after the third (inning) and I'm like, `This is for real now,'" Brown said. "Knowing it was an elimination game, the longer I was out there, the more confident I was. It just kept building."
Brown's performance was another in a long line of those that he and his teammates have continued to produce despite a rash of injuries. The Chippewas are 27-14 in their last 41 games after a 2-15-1 start. They are 29-29-1, .500 for the first time since mid-February.
"Those guys played a heck of a day today," Jaksa said. "You've got to tip your cap. Our guys are really rallying around each other and just working and grinding and believing in what they can do."
Zach Heeke, Zavier Warren, Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Sullivan finished with two hits apiece to lead CMU's 11-hit attack. The top five hitters in the CMU lineup went a combined 9-for-21 on the day. Sullivan finished with two RBI.
