Central Michigan University Athletics
Tuesday, March 26
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
4 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Grand Valley
CMU fans will get their first chance to see the Chippewas under first-year coach Jordan Bischel on Tuesday (4 p.m.) at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Baseball Home Opener Set For Tuesday
3/25/2019 7:44:00 PM | Baseball
Hot-hitting Chippewas welcome Grand Valley State
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Home sweet home.
The Central Michigan baseball team is scheduled to play its home opener on Tuesday (4 p.m.) when it welcomes Grand Valley State for a nonconference game to Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
It will be the first opportunity for Chippewas fans to get an in-person look at CMU under first-year coach Jordan Bischel, whose team is off to a 15-7 start and last weekend took two of three at Ohio in its first Mid-American Conference series of the season.
"It'll be nice to play at home," Bischel said. "Overall, I think this first stretch of the season has gone well and I just have to imagine our guys are dying to get on their home field tomorrow."
Through his own research, Bischel discovered that heading into last weekend, only 50 Division I programs in the country had yet to play a home game. Of those, just seven had winning records.
"It's a credit to our guys that we've been able to fight through being on the road constantly," he said. "There's a couple of games we wish we could have back, we wished we would have played better.
"Overall, they've done a good job buying into the things we're teaching. We still have some ground to gain and some things to improve on, but it's gone well to this point. … We like where we're at right now."
Bischel's track record as a coach has been highlighted by teams that swing the bat well. Through 22 games, he has the Chippewas on the right track at the plate as they are hitting a MAC-best .307 and have already surpassed their 2018 home-run total.
A year ago, CMU hit .271, averaged 5.9 runs per game, and finished the 60-game schedule with 12 home runs. This season, they have 13 round-trippers and are averaging 8.6 runs per game.
"We've swung the bats well and what's been encouraging is that we've been able to score runs consistently," Bischel said. "We've had a couple of big outbursts where we've scored 15 or 20 runs, but those aren't really the games we get excited about, it's when we face good pitching and we find ways to scratch out runs."
Five Chippewa starters are hitting .316 or better, led by Zach Gilles, who checks in at .398 and carries a MAC-best .495 on-base percentage. Zavier Warren is hitting .376, while Griffin Lockwood-Powell is surging, hitting .361 with a five home runs and 28 RBI, both of which lead the MAC. Warren (25) and Jacob Crum (24) rank second and third, respectively, in the conference in RBI.
Lockwood-Powell was named the MAC Player of the Week on Monday after a huge weekend at Ohio, where he had eight hits in 11 at-bats, including three home runs. He drove in seven runs and posted a remarkable 1.636 slugging percentage in the three-game set.
"It's been one-to-nine in the lineup giving us production," Bischel said. "Last weekend it was Griff really carrying us, but … depending on the day, a different guy does it and that takes a lot of pressure off of guys. Overall, you've got to be pretty pleased."
The run support has helped bolster a pitching staff that ranks third in the MAC with a 3.84 team earned run average. The Chippewas issued just 67 walks, the best among MAC teams, and CMU is tied for second in the league with a .974 fielding percentage.
CMU's three weekend starters, Pat Leatherman, Cam Brown and Tyler Hankins, are a combined 12-0 with a cumulative 3.51 ERA.
"As a whole, those three guys have pitched really well," Bischel said. "The biggest thing you see with those three guys is they make the other team beat you. They are going to throw strikes and pound the zone. If we defend behind them, they're going to give us a great chance to win."
The Central Michigan baseball team is scheduled to play its home opener on Tuesday (4 p.m.) when it welcomes Grand Valley State for a nonconference game to Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
It will be the first opportunity for Chippewas fans to get an in-person look at CMU under first-year coach Jordan Bischel, whose team is off to a 15-7 start and last weekend took two of three at Ohio in its first Mid-American Conference series of the season.
"It'll be nice to play at home," Bischel said. "Overall, I think this first stretch of the season has gone well and I just have to imagine our guys are dying to get on their home field tomorrow."
Through his own research, Bischel discovered that heading into last weekend, only 50 Division I programs in the country had yet to play a home game. Of those, just seven had winning records.
"It's a credit to our guys that we've been able to fight through being on the road constantly," he said. "There's a couple of games we wish we could have back, we wished we would have played better.
"Overall, they've done a good job buying into the things we're teaching. We still have some ground to gain and some things to improve on, but it's gone well to this point. … We like where we're at right now."
Bischel's track record as a coach has been highlighted by teams that swing the bat well. Through 22 games, he has the Chippewas on the right track at the plate as they are hitting a MAC-best .307 and have already surpassed their 2018 home-run total.
A year ago, CMU hit .271, averaged 5.9 runs per game, and finished the 60-game schedule with 12 home runs. This season, they have 13 round-trippers and are averaging 8.6 runs per game.
"We've swung the bats well and what's been encouraging is that we've been able to score runs consistently," Bischel said. "We've had a couple of big outbursts where we've scored 15 or 20 runs, but those aren't really the games we get excited about, it's when we face good pitching and we find ways to scratch out runs."
Five Chippewa starters are hitting .316 or better, led by Zach Gilles, who checks in at .398 and carries a MAC-best .495 on-base percentage. Zavier Warren is hitting .376, while Griffin Lockwood-Powell is surging, hitting .361 with a five home runs and 28 RBI, both of which lead the MAC. Warren (25) and Jacob Crum (24) rank second and third, respectively, in the conference in RBI.
Lockwood-Powell was named the MAC Player of the Week on Monday after a huge weekend at Ohio, where he had eight hits in 11 at-bats, including three home runs. He drove in seven runs and posted a remarkable 1.636 slugging percentage in the three-game set.
"It's been one-to-nine in the lineup giving us production," Bischel said. "Last weekend it was Griff really carrying us, but … depending on the day, a different guy does it and that takes a lot of pressure off of guys. Overall, you've got to be pretty pleased."
The run support has helped bolster a pitching staff that ranks third in the MAC with a 3.84 team earned run average. The Chippewas issued just 67 walks, the best among MAC teams, and CMU is tied for second in the league with a .974 fielding percentage.
CMU's three weekend starters, Pat Leatherman, Cam Brown and Tyler Hankins, are a combined 12-0 with a cumulative 3.51 ERA.
"As a whole, those three guys have pitched really well," Bischel said. "The biggest thing you see with those three guys is they make the other team beat you. They are going to throw strikes and pound the zone. If we defend behind them, they're going to give us a great chance to win."
Players Mentioned
OF
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OF
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LHP
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RHP
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C
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C/INF
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