Batka, Palmblad Combine for Shutout as Baseball Completes Sweep of Akron

Sunday, April 23

Akron, Ohio

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

25-13, 0

Akron

14-25, 0

Central Michigan

Akron

Keegan Batka struck out a career-high 10 on Sunday in CMU's 3-0 victory at Akron.

Batka, Palmblad Combine for Shutout as Baseball Completes Sweep of Akron

4/23/2023 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

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Chippewas move into first-place tie in MAC

By: Andy Sneddon

AKRON, Ohio – Like the Central Michigan baseball team's season in general, Keegan Batka just got better and better.

Batka allowed just four hits and struck out a career-high 10 on Sunday as the Chippewas downed Akron, 3-0, to complete the sweep of a three-game Mid-American Conference series at the Zips' Skeeles Field.

It was CMU's ninth consecutive win and its 13^th in its last 14 games. The Chippewas are 26-13, 13-5 MAC and, with the sweep, moved into a first-place tie with Ohio, Ball State and Kent State.

The Chippewas hold the tie-breaker over all three of those teams having won series from each. CMU is scheduled to entertain Oakland in a nonleague game on Tuesday, April 25, and then welcomes Miami (Ohio) for a three-game league set beginning on Friday, April 28.

Batka (5-2), a junior right-hander in his first year at CMU after transferring from Kellogg CC, was dynamite over eight innings.

He surrendered back-to-back singles to open the second inning and then two-out doubles in the third and in the fifth. After walking the leadoff man to open sixth, he set down nine in a row before giving way to Ryan Palmblad, who pitched a perfect ninth.

It was Batka's best performance in his 11 appearances, all of them starts, in a CMU uniform. Ten days ago, he surrendered three runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings against Ball State. He drew the start on Wednesday in a nonleague win over Madonna, allowing just one hit over two innings.

"He had left the ball up a little too much that last couple of weeks and that second inning that he threw (against Madonna), finally the ball came down to the middle of the zone and that's when he's really good," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said. "Today, the difference-maker beyond that is he really got three pitches working. He's been a pretty fastball-heavy guy and today he had a great three-pitch mix which kept (Akron) off balance."

It was CMU's second shutout of the season and Batka, who threw 112 pitches, appeared to be as strong in the eighth inning, when he struck out the side, as he was to start the game. It marked his longest outing in a Chippewa uniform.

Bischel toyed with the idea of leaving Batka on the hill for the ninth, but with a well-rested bullpen and bigger games looming – as there always are with May on the horizon – he thought better of it.

"He really takes care of his body and pushes himself so he's in great shape," Bischel said. "As he got deeper in the game he just continued to get a better feel for his pitches and his confidence continued to grow. His eighth inning he was just lights out. He was fun to watch."

The Chippewas broke through for two runs in the sixth against Akron starter Joe Roth, who had locked horns with Batka in what unfolded as a pitchers' duel.

Danny Wuestenfeld and Garrett Navarra hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning and then Luke Sefcik bunted for a single to load the bases. Robby Morgan IV hit a groundball fielder's choice, scoring Wuestenfeld and then Navarra scored when the Zips committed an error on the play.

Morgan hit his team-leading seventh homer in the eighth. It was the Chippewas' third home run of the series and it was the 10^th time in their last 11 games that they have hit at least one home run.

"Today was a tough day to hit," Bischel said. "It was cold, the wind was blowing in, and give credit to their pitcher, I thought he threw really well. We did a good job with our at-bats. We hit a few balls hard to score a few more; just hit a couple balls at people."

The Chippewas finished with nine hits and took a different route to victory than they had on Saturday in a 16-5 blowout and their 5-3 come-from-behind victory in Friday's series opener.

"You've got to be versatile in how you're successful," Bischel said. "There's going to be days when you struggle to swing the bat. When you pitch and play good defense you don't need a ton of hits and we did that really well today."