Wednesday, March 20
East Lansing, Mich.
4 PM
Central Michigan University
at
Michigan State
Photo by: Andy Sneddon
Nonleaguer At Michigan State Next For CMU Baseball
3/19/2019 10:47:00 PM | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan baseball is at least getting closer to home.
The Chippewas are scheduled to face Michigan State in East Lansing on Wednesday (4 p.m.) at the Spartans' McLane Baseball Stadium. CMU, which is scheduled to entertain Grand Valley State next week in its home opener, has played in Alabama, Texas, Florida and Illinois this season.
Wednesday's game will be CMU's first inside the state of Michigan. The Chippewas are scheduled to go to Athens, Ohio, this weekend to open Mid-American Conference play with a three-game series against the Bobcats.
The Chippewas (13-6) dropped two of three over the weekend at Illinois State. The Redbirds swept a competitive doubleheader from CMU on Saturday, 7-2 and 5-4, before the Chippewas bounced back with an 11-2 victory on Sunday to salvage the series finale.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Freshman right-hander Ian Leatherman (1-0) is scheduled to start for the Chippewas, while the Spartans will send left-hander Jesse Heikkinen to the hill.
It will be Leatherman's second start as a Chippewa. He has appeared in six games this season, allowing nine hits while striking out nine and walking six over 8 1/3 innings. Heikkinen, a sophomore, is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA.
AT OR NEAR THE TOP
The Chippewas, under first-year coach Jordan Bischel, have produced at the plate. They rank second in the MAC in batting average at .307 (Western Michigan leads at .308), and they lead the league in runs (169), hits (216), doubles (51), total bases (312), and walks (108).
CMU is second in the league in slugging percentage (.444) and on-base percentage (.416).
The Chippewas and Miami (Ohio) both sport a league-best team earned run average of 3.51.
CMU LEADERS
Junior center fielder Zach Gilles leads the MAC with a .431 batting average and eight stolen bases, and his .517 on-base percentage tops the team.
Sophomore shortstop Zavier Warren is enjoying a breakout sophomore season, hitting .367 and leading CMU in home runs (3) and RBI (24).
Gilles and Warren are two of the six Chippewas who are hitting above .300. Jacob Crum (.373), Zach Heeke (.321), Jason Sullivan (.312), and Griffin Lockwood-Powell (.306) are the others.
• The speedy Crum leads the nation with five triples, and his .731 slugging percentage is the best in the MAC and ranks 32nd nationally.
• Through 19 games, the Chippewas have nine home runs after hitting just 12 in 60 games in 2018.
ON THE HILL
CMU's top three starters, Cameron Brown, Pat Leatherman and Tyler Hankins, are a combined 10-0.
Leatherman, a senior, leads the Chippewa starters with a 2.08 earned run average. He has struck out 26 and walked just seven in 26 innings.
Cameron Miller and Logan Buczkowski have been solid out of the bullpen. Both have two saves, and Miller sports a 0.61 ERA with no walks and 13 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings; Buczkowski had struck out 14 in 9 2/3 innings and owns a 1.86 ERA.
THE SERIES
CMU is 69-60 all-time against Michigan State. The Chippewas swept the two-game season series in 2018 from the Spartans, winning 3-1 in East Lansing, and 13-2 in Mount Pleasant.
SCOUTING
• The Spartans are playing their first game of the season in East Lansing. They are 3-15 and have lost five consecutive games.
• MSU is hitting .233 as a team and has a team ERA of 6.91.
• Royce Ando leads the Spartans with a .321 batting average. Senior Marty Bechina is hitting .290 with a team-high 13 RBI, and shares the home run lead with three.
NEXT
The Chippewas are slated to play their first MAC game of the season on Friday (6 p.m.) at Ohio as they begin a three-game series. The two teams are slated to meet on Saturday (3 p.m.) and close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.).
The Bobcats are 4-13 and were scheduled to play host to Dayton on Tuesday in a nonconference game.
The Chippewas are scheduled to face Michigan State in East Lansing on Wednesday (4 p.m.) at the Spartans' McLane Baseball Stadium. CMU, which is scheduled to entertain Grand Valley State next week in its home opener, has played in Alabama, Texas, Florida and Illinois this season.
Wednesday's game will be CMU's first inside the state of Michigan. The Chippewas are scheduled to go to Athens, Ohio, this weekend to open Mid-American Conference play with a three-game series against the Bobcats.
The Chippewas (13-6) dropped two of three over the weekend at Illinois State. The Redbirds swept a competitive doubleheader from CMU on Saturday, 7-2 and 5-4, before the Chippewas bounced back with an 11-2 victory on Sunday to salvage the series finale.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Freshman right-hander Ian Leatherman (1-0) is scheduled to start for the Chippewas, while the Spartans will send left-hander Jesse Heikkinen to the hill.
It will be Leatherman's second start as a Chippewa. He has appeared in six games this season, allowing nine hits while striking out nine and walking six over 8 1/3 innings. Heikkinen, a sophomore, is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA.
AT OR NEAR THE TOP
The Chippewas, under first-year coach Jordan Bischel, have produced at the plate. They rank second in the MAC in batting average at .307 (Western Michigan leads at .308), and they lead the league in runs (169), hits (216), doubles (51), total bases (312), and walks (108).
CMU is second in the league in slugging percentage (.444) and on-base percentage (.416).
The Chippewas and Miami (Ohio) both sport a league-best team earned run average of 3.51.
CMU LEADERS
Junior center fielder Zach Gilles leads the MAC with a .431 batting average and eight stolen bases, and his .517 on-base percentage tops the team.
Sophomore shortstop Zavier Warren is enjoying a breakout sophomore season, hitting .367 and leading CMU in home runs (3) and RBI (24).
Gilles and Warren are two of the six Chippewas who are hitting above .300. Jacob Crum (.373), Zach Heeke (.321), Jason Sullivan (.312), and Griffin Lockwood-Powell (.306) are the others.
• The speedy Crum leads the nation with five triples, and his .731 slugging percentage is the best in the MAC and ranks 32nd nationally.
• Through 19 games, the Chippewas have nine home runs after hitting just 12 in 60 games in 2018.
ON THE HILL
CMU's top three starters, Cameron Brown, Pat Leatherman and Tyler Hankins, are a combined 10-0.
Leatherman, a senior, leads the Chippewa starters with a 2.08 earned run average. He has struck out 26 and walked just seven in 26 innings.
Cameron Miller and Logan Buczkowski have been solid out of the bullpen. Both have two saves, and Miller sports a 0.61 ERA with no walks and 13 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings; Buczkowski had struck out 14 in 9 2/3 innings and owns a 1.86 ERA.
THE SERIES
CMU is 69-60 all-time against Michigan State. The Chippewas swept the two-game season series in 2018 from the Spartans, winning 3-1 in East Lansing, and 13-2 in Mount Pleasant.
SCOUTING
• The Spartans are playing their first game of the season in East Lansing. They are 3-15 and have lost five consecutive games.
• MSU is hitting .233 as a team and has a team ERA of 6.91.
• Royce Ando leads the Spartans with a .321 batting average. Senior Marty Bechina is hitting .290 with a team-high 13 RBI, and shares the home run lead with three.
NEXT
The Chippewas are slated to play their first MAC game of the season on Friday (6 p.m.) at Ohio as they begin a three-game series. The two teams are slated to meet on Saturday (3 p.m.) and close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.).
The Bobcats are 4-13 and were scheduled to play host to Dayton on Tuesday in a nonconference game.
Players Mentioned
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