Chippewa Baseball Heads To Illinois State

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- After stops in Alabama, Texas and Florida, the Central Michigan baseball team will stay in the Midwest and a little closer to home this weekend when it goes to Normal, Ill., for a three-game nonconference series with Illinois State.

The Chippewas (12-4) and Cardinals (10-5) are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday (2 p.m.) and are slated to conclude the series on Sunday (2 p.m.) with a single game.

CMU leads the Mid-American Conference in runs (152), doubles (47), total bases (271), on-base percentage (.421) and team earned run average (3.20). The Chippewas are hitting .309 as a team. They rank second in the league in that category.

CMU assistant coach Tony Jandron credited CMU's early season success to the Chippewas' approach.

"We really try to focus on ourselves each day in practice," Jandron said. "It can be difficult (in Mount Pleasant) to not get outside as much as we want. We take it upon ourselves to get after it every day, push each other, and compete with each other to compete with other teams when we get to gameday."

AT THE PLATE
Five Chippewas are hitting .300 or better. Outfielder Zach Gilles leads the Chippewas with a .456 batting average, 26 hits, and a .549 on-base percentage. Shortstop Zavier Warren boasts a .390 batting average, and leads CMU with nine doubles and 14 walks.

Both Gilles and Warren have hit safely in their last nine games.

"(Gilles and Warren) understand what pitches they can do damage with and understand the strike zone within what they're able to do," Jandron said. "It really benefits them to get locked into their zones and do damage when they get those pitches."

ON THE MOUND
Senior right-hander Pat Leatherman holds a 3-0 record with a team-best 1.71 ERA and 22 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .176 batting average. Junior right-hander Cameron Brown is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a team-high 24 innings pitched.

Sophomore Logan Buczkowski has not allowed a run in 6 ⅔ innings on the mound. He has struck out 12 and notched two saves. Sophomore Cameron Miller holds a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched, striking out eight and earning two saves in five appearances.

SCOUTING
The Redbirds have won three consecutive games, a streak that began with a 7-3 victory on March 10 over the No. 1 team in the nation, Vanderbilt.

The Redbirds are hitting .320 as a team. Gunner Peterson and Ryan Hutchinson lead Illinois State in hitting at .438 and .405, respectively. Peterson is also tied for the team lead with three home runs while leading Illinois State with a 1.125 slugging percentage.

Matt Walker and Colton Johnson lead the Illinois State mound corps. Walker is 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in four starts. He has struck out 20 against 15 walks. Johnson owns a 2.76 ERA in six appearances with 18 strikeouts against seven walks.

NEXT
The Chippewas are scheduled to play their first game of the season in the state of Michigan when they go to Michigan State on Wednesday, March 20. CMU is slated to open the MAC schedule with a three-game series at Ohio beginning on Friday, March 22.

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Brown

Logan Buczkowski

Zach Gilles

Pat Leatherman

Cameron Miller

Zavier Warren