Friday, March 12
Morgantown, WV
3 P.M.
Central Michigan University
4-4
5
at
3
West Virginia
4-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
0
0
3
0
1
0
1
0
5
5
0
West Virginia
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
5
2
Kade Preston's fourth-inning two-run triple put CMU ahead for good on Friday at West Virginia.
Chippewas Take Advantage, Win Series Opener At No. 23 West Virginia
3/12/2021 8:22:00 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – West Virginia was generous. Central Michigan was more than happy to take advantage.
And it didn't hurt to again get outstanding pitching.
The 23rd-ranked Mountaineers issued eight walks, hit two CMU batters, and committed two errors on Friday as CMU took a 5-3 victory in the Mountaineers' home opener at Monongalia County Ballpark.
It was the fourth victory in a row for the Chippewas (4-4), and a major feather in their cap. The Mountaineers play in the Big 12 and have been to the NCAA Tournament twice since 2017. The teams are scheduled to conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday (11 a.m.).
"West Virginia is very good," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "They're well coached they hosted a (NCAA) regional (in 2019), they have some talent. I told our guys we'd better not expect to win the pitching-velocity contest or the long-drive contest today and we didn't; we lost them both. But there's more to baseball than that."
The Chippewas are 7-3 against opponents from Power 5 conferences since Bischel took over the program before the 2019 season. They are 2-0 against Michigan State; 1-0 against West Virginia, Pitt and Notre Dame; 1-1 against Arizona and Miami (Fla.); and 0-1 against Mississippi State.
"I think what's fun about these wins is they don't surprise the guys," Bischel said. "They're good for the program, they're great for recruiting, they're great for the MAC, they're good for CMU.
"Internally, we treat those games just like any other game. Whether it's been Michigan State or Notre Dame or Miami (Fla.) … we're going to win some of those, we're going to lose some of those, but we expect to win, and I think that's neat for the kids."
On the Mound
Junior Jordan Patty struck out eight, walked two and surrendered two runs on four hits over seven solid innings for his first win of the season. He bounced back from his last start when he surrendered five runs over 3 1/3 innings last weekend at VCU.
"I really thought VCU was one of the most impressive offenses I've seen the last few years and I thought that had a lot more to do with his line than his pitching and he obviously responded great today," Bischel said. "We've kind of come to expect it out of Jordan. He's done that a lot against some really good teams and he did a great job competing today against an awfully good lineup.
"He's a guy who's just going to attack you. He throws a lot of fastballs; I don't think there's any secret there, the scouting report's out there. He's going to challenge you; he's going to come after you and most days he does a great job with it. I think you see the two-way player come out in him sometimes; he was a shortstop before I got here and you kind of see that athlete come out in him. He just wants to compete."
Ian Leatherman worked the final two innings, striking out three, for his second save. The lone blemish on his line was a leadoff homer in the ninth. Leatherman set down the next three hitters in order.
"If that's a one-run game or a tie game we probably call a little different pitch there, but he said he was going to challenge those guys," Bischel said. "Pretty proud of him. He gave up the home run, came right back and went after the next guy. He was really, really good out of the bullpen."
Nice Trend
Chippewa pitching has allowed nine runs during CMU's four-game win streak. The staff earned run average over that span is 2.25 with 33 strikeouts and seven walks.
At the Plate
The Chippewas scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. They loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsman and then Zach Lechnir delivered a sacrifice fly. Redshirt freshman Kade Preston followed with a two-run triple to put the Chippewas in front.
CMU added a run in the sixth when they loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batsman and a West Virginia error, and then Drew Lechnir drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2. In the eighth, the Chippewas followed a similar script to add an insurance run: An error and two walks loaded the bases, and then Justin Simpson drove in a run with an infield single.
Simpson and Zach Gilles each had two hits. CMU totaled five hits and stranded 11 baserunners, keeping the pressure on the West Virginia pitchers and defense throughout the game. Mountaineer pitchers threw 164 pitchers; Patty and Leatherman combined to throw 116.
"If you face a team that hits a hundred home runs in a 56-game season it's going to impact how you pitch and your mentality, and I think (facing) us it's kind of the same thing," Bischel said. "There's a report out there that we're going to take walks, we're going to see pitches, we're going to bunt, and that's probably frustrating for pitchers and pitching coaches that they know what they need to do, but it's easier said than done, and it shows great buy-in from the team."
Highlight
Preston's triple, which went up the right-center field gap, came off Mountaineer starter Jackson Wolf, a 6-foot-7 left-hander who entered the game with a 0.75 earned run average.
"Kade Preston, he's in his third year for us and he's an unbelievably improved player that's had very, very few opportunities," Bischel said. "He gets up there against literally one of the better pitchers in the country and smokes a triple into the gap to give us the lead. That was probably the most fun moment of the season to this point."
And it didn't hurt to again get outstanding pitching.
The 23rd-ranked Mountaineers issued eight walks, hit two CMU batters, and committed two errors on Friday as CMU took a 5-3 victory in the Mountaineers' home opener at Monongalia County Ballpark.
It was the fourth victory in a row for the Chippewas (4-4), and a major feather in their cap. The Mountaineers play in the Big 12 and have been to the NCAA Tournament twice since 2017. The teams are scheduled to conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday (11 a.m.).
"West Virginia is very good," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "They're well coached they hosted a (NCAA) regional (in 2019), they have some talent. I told our guys we'd better not expect to win the pitching-velocity contest or the long-drive contest today and we didn't; we lost them both. But there's more to baseball than that."
The Chippewas are 7-3 against opponents from Power 5 conferences since Bischel took over the program before the 2019 season. They are 2-0 against Michigan State; 1-0 against West Virginia, Pitt and Notre Dame; 1-1 against Arizona and Miami (Fla.); and 0-1 against Mississippi State.
"I think what's fun about these wins is they don't surprise the guys," Bischel said. "They're good for the program, they're great for recruiting, they're great for the MAC, they're good for CMU.
"Internally, we treat those games just like any other game. Whether it's been Michigan State or Notre Dame or Miami (Fla.) … we're going to win some of those, we're going to lose some of those, but we expect to win, and I think that's neat for the kids."
On the Mound
Junior Jordan Patty struck out eight, walked two and surrendered two runs on four hits over seven solid innings for his first win of the season. He bounced back from his last start when he surrendered five runs over 3 1/3 innings last weekend at VCU.
"I really thought VCU was one of the most impressive offenses I've seen the last few years and I thought that had a lot more to do with his line than his pitching and he obviously responded great today," Bischel said. "We've kind of come to expect it out of Jordan. He's done that a lot against some really good teams and he did a great job competing today against an awfully good lineup.
"He's a guy who's just going to attack you. He throws a lot of fastballs; I don't think there's any secret there, the scouting report's out there. He's going to challenge you; he's going to come after you and most days he does a great job with it. I think you see the two-way player come out in him sometimes; he was a shortstop before I got here and you kind of see that athlete come out in him. He just wants to compete."
Ian Leatherman worked the final two innings, striking out three, for his second save. The lone blemish on his line was a leadoff homer in the ninth. Leatherman set down the next three hitters in order.
"If that's a one-run game or a tie game we probably call a little different pitch there, but he said he was going to challenge those guys," Bischel said. "Pretty proud of him. He gave up the home run, came right back and went after the next guy. He was really, really good out of the bullpen."
Nice Trend
Chippewa pitching has allowed nine runs during CMU's four-game win streak. The staff earned run average over that span is 2.25 with 33 strikeouts and seven walks.
At the Plate
The Chippewas scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. They loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsman and then Zach Lechnir delivered a sacrifice fly. Redshirt freshman Kade Preston followed with a two-run triple to put the Chippewas in front.
CMU added a run in the sixth when they loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batsman and a West Virginia error, and then Drew Lechnir drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2. In the eighth, the Chippewas followed a similar script to add an insurance run: An error and two walks loaded the bases, and then Justin Simpson drove in a run with an infield single.
Simpson and Zach Gilles each had two hits. CMU totaled five hits and stranded 11 baserunners, keeping the pressure on the West Virginia pitchers and defense throughout the game. Mountaineer pitchers threw 164 pitchers; Patty and Leatherman combined to throw 116.
"If you face a team that hits a hundred home runs in a 56-game season it's going to impact how you pitch and your mentality, and I think (facing) us it's kind of the same thing," Bischel said. "There's a report out there that we're going to take walks, we're going to see pitches, we're going to bunt, and that's probably frustrating for pitchers and pitching coaches that they know what they need to do, but it's easier said than done, and it shows great buy-in from the team."
Highlight
Preston's triple, which went up the right-center field gap, came off Mountaineer starter Jackson Wolf, a 6-foot-7 left-hander who entered the game with a 0.75 earned run average.
"Kade Preston, he's in his third year for us and he's an unbelievably improved player that's had very, very few opportunities," Bischel said. "He gets up there against literally one of the better pitchers in the country and smokes a triple into the gap to give us the lead. That was probably the most fun moment of the season to this point."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Patty, Jordan (1-0)
L: Wolf, J. (1-1)
S: Leatherman, Ian (2)
Batting:
3B: Preston, Kade 1
RBI: Lechnir, Zach 1 ; Preston, Kade 2 ; Heeke, Zach 1 ; Lechnir, Drew 1
SF: Lechnir, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Gilles, Zach 2 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1 ; Simpson, Justin 1
HBP: Gilles, Zach 1 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1
Batting:
2B: McCormick, M 1
HR: McCormick, M 1
RBI: McCormick, M 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, A. 1 ; McCormick, M 1 ; Abernathy, B 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
3b/1b
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
pr/ss
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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OF
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INF
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RHP
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