Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, May 6
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
24
vs
4
Eastern Michigan
CMU's Danny Wuestenfeld (25) and Robby Morgan IV celebrate after scoring runs in the Chippewas' 24-4 victory on Saturday at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Big-Time Rebound for Baseball
5/6/2023 5:44:00 PM | Baseball
CMU slugs way to 24-4 win over Eastern Michigan, remains two games behind in MAC chase
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A short memory goes a long way in baseball.
A day after struggling to generate offense in a 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan, the Central Michigan baseball team came out swinging -- and connecting -- on Saturday, pounding the Eagles, 24-4, in a Mid-American Conference game at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas improved to 30-15, 16-7 MAC, remaining squarely in the chase for the league championship. They have won 17 of their last 20 games and remain two games behind Kent State in the MAC standings. Kent State improved to 18-5 in league play with a 12-5 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.
CMU and EMU are scheduled to close their series on Sunday (1 p.m.) on the Chippewas' Senior Day.
"We've just had a few times this year where we've lost our way at the plate, lost our faith in ourselves, in our commitment to what we do, and the positive with that is every time it's happened, we've bounced back really, really well," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said.
"I've told our guys we've got to challenge ourselves now, let's not have to bounce back. You're going to lose games, but let's not question who we are anymore; trust who we are and if we do that the results will generally be there."
Justin Simpson lined the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning back up the middle for a single, and then Garrett Navarra ripped a 2-2 pitch for a double to right-center.
"I think that set the tone that our struggles (Friday) weren't going to carry over," Bischel said.
The Chippewas scored two runs in the first and four in the second in seizing a 6-0 lead. They exploded for eight runs in the third, chasing Eastern starter Luke Russo (5-3), and the rout was on as CMU finished with season highs in hits (20) and runs.
"That's a really good pitcher we faced and our guys did a really good job competing with him," Bischel said. "We're 30-15. It's not like we're doing a bunch of things wrong, but there's a handful of games you can circle where you can say we could have been a little more committed.
"We had that commitment today and hopefully we can keep it."
Lost in the offensive onslaught was the performance of Chippewa starter Keegan Batka (6-3), who allowed one run on four hits over five innings while throwing just 67 pitches.
It was Batka's third consecutive solid start. He has pitched a combined 19 1/3 innings over that span and allowed just four earned runs while striking out 19.
"As a whole it's hard to find games the last month where our pitching didn't give us a chance to win and obviously (Batka) did the same thing," Bischel said. "If it had been a close game, he was going to nail zeros on the board. It was good to see. He's throwing it well."
Simpson finished with four hits and Jake Brill had three to lead CMU at the plate. Luke Sefcik drove in a team-high four runs.
Saturday's game gave Bischel the opportunity to give most of his backup players playing time and several seniors, including first baseman Kade Preston (three-run double), pitcher Ryan Culley (one hitless inning), and catcher Shane Ryan got a chance.
"With the success we've had, you don't do it with nine good players," Bischel said. "You do it with a roster full of good players and some of those guys don't get many chances to show that but they put in just as much time, they prepare just as hard, and there's a lot of places where they could play more if they took that opportunity but instead they stay committed to our program and it feels good to see them get out there and have it show up a little bit in the box score."
A day after struggling to generate offense in a 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan, the Central Michigan baseball team came out swinging -- and connecting -- on Saturday, pounding the Eagles, 24-4, in a Mid-American Conference game at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The Chippewas improved to 30-15, 16-7 MAC, remaining squarely in the chase for the league championship. They have won 17 of their last 20 games and remain two games behind Kent State in the MAC standings. Kent State improved to 18-5 in league play with a 12-5 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.
CMU and EMU are scheduled to close their series on Sunday (1 p.m.) on the Chippewas' Senior Day.
"We've just had a few times this year where we've lost our way at the plate, lost our faith in ourselves, in our commitment to what we do, and the positive with that is every time it's happened, we've bounced back really, really well," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said.
"I've told our guys we've got to challenge ourselves now, let's not have to bounce back. You're going to lose games, but let's not question who we are anymore; trust who we are and if we do that the results will generally be there."
Justin Simpson lined the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning back up the middle for a single, and then Garrett Navarra ripped a 2-2 pitch for a double to right-center.
"I think that set the tone that our struggles (Friday) weren't going to carry over," Bischel said.
The Chippewas scored two runs in the first and four in the second in seizing a 6-0 lead. They exploded for eight runs in the third, chasing Eastern starter Luke Russo (5-3), and the rout was on as CMU finished with season highs in hits (20) and runs.
"That's a really good pitcher we faced and our guys did a really good job competing with him," Bischel said. "We're 30-15. It's not like we're doing a bunch of things wrong, but there's a handful of games you can circle where you can say we could have been a little more committed.
"We had that commitment today and hopefully we can keep it."
Lost in the offensive onslaught was the performance of Chippewa starter Keegan Batka (6-3), who allowed one run on four hits over five innings while throwing just 67 pitches.
It was Batka's third consecutive solid start. He has pitched a combined 19 1/3 innings over that span and allowed just four earned runs while striking out 19.
"As a whole it's hard to find games the last month where our pitching didn't give us a chance to win and obviously (Batka) did the same thing," Bischel said. "If it had been a close game, he was going to nail zeros on the board. It was good to see. He's throwing it well."
Simpson finished with four hits and Jake Brill had three to lead CMU at the plate. Luke Sefcik drove in a team-high four runs.
Saturday's game gave Bischel the opportunity to give most of his backup players playing time and several seniors, including first baseman Kade Preston (three-run double), pitcher Ryan Culley (one hitless inning), and catcher Shane Ryan got a chance.
"With the success we've had, you don't do it with nine good players," Bischel said. "You do it with a roster full of good players and some of those guys don't get many chances to show that but they put in just as much time, they prepare just as hard, and there's a lot of places where they could play more if they took that opportunity but instead they stay committed to our program and it feels good to see them get out there and have it show up a little bit in the box score."
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