Central Michigan University Athletics
Tuesday, March 26
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
7-18
11
vs
1
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Saginaw Valley State
14-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saginaw Valley State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Central Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
CMU's Mikey Murphy approaches third base on his home trot in the sixth inning of the Chippewas' 11-1 win on Tuesday.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Baseball Rides Timely Hits, Solid Pitching to 11-1 Win Over Saginaw Valley State
3/26/2024 6:33:00 PM | Baseball
Murphy homers, Vitas strong on the mound in CMU win
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Timely hits during a big inning and a solid relief appearance by Ben Vitas was just what the doctor ordered for the Central Michigan baseball team.
Mikey Murphy hit a two-run homer, Danny Wuestenfeld ripped a two-run double, and Vitas tossed four solid innings on Tuesday as the Chippewas downed Saginaw Valley State, 11-1, in a nonconference game on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The game was called after seven innings on the run rule.
The win was CMU's fourth in its last six starts as it improved to 7-18. The Chippewas open a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Eastern Michigan on Thursday (3 p.m.).
CMU is 3-6 in MAC play after winning two of three last weekend at Ohio.
"To take two of three on the road was a huge boost heading into today and I think that's a big reason why we came out and played the way we did," first-year CMU coach Jake Sabol said.
Vitas (1-2) went four innings in relief of starter Sean Knorr, who tossed three shutout innings but did not return after a 30-minute lightning delay. Vitas surrendered one run on four hits, struck out a career-high six, and walked one.
Save for a sixth-inning triple, the Cardinals didn't hit a ball hard off of him.
"That's the Ben Vitas we saw all fall and winter and expected," Sabol said. "He's taken his lumps as the season has gone on and been moved in and out of roles and he's been waiting for his opportunity. He hasn't had one in the last couple of weeks.
"Doesn't matter who the opponent is, you've got to go out there and execute who you are and help the team win and he did a really nice job of doing that today. He had good stuff today. If you look at his numbers throughout the year, he's been getting hit a little bit, he's been in the zone, he's been throwing a ton of strikes, but the stuff was much better today.
"Hopefully today was a good confidence booster for him."
The Chippewas collected just seven hits, but they drew seven walks – two of them with the bases loaded -- and took advantage of three Saginaw Valley (14-7) errors.
Most importantly, the Chippewas got clutch hits, specifically from Murphy and Wuestenfeld. Murphy's homer, his team-leading third of the season, and Wuestenfeld's two-run double highlighted CMU's seven-run sixth.
Murphy and Drew Loikits, both of whom are freshmen, finished with two hits each.
"We've just been talking lately about having really good days in practice and if we can sneak out a win – whether you do it the way you want to or it's ugly, those are confidence boosters," Sabol said. "We've been figuring some things out with the lineup. It isn't changing as much as it was earlier in the year and we're starting to get some stability and consistency with guys from a position-player standpoint and that certainly helps. They can get their feet wet and feel their way through some success.
"We needed a big hit with runners in scoring position – like Danny got today, like Murphy got, and we got a few times over the weekend (at Ohio). We need a couple of arms to go in there and throw up some zeros and allow us to breathe.
"We have done that the last four, five, six games and I think our guys are starting to realize we can win some baseball games with the roster we have if we do the right things."
Mikey Murphy hit a two-run homer, Danny Wuestenfeld ripped a two-run double, and Vitas tossed four solid innings on Tuesday as the Chippewas downed Saginaw Valley State, 11-1, in a nonconference game on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
The game was called after seven innings on the run rule.
The win was CMU's fourth in its last six starts as it improved to 7-18. The Chippewas open a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Eastern Michigan on Thursday (3 p.m.).
CMU is 3-6 in MAC play after winning two of three last weekend at Ohio.
"To take two of three on the road was a huge boost heading into today and I think that's a big reason why we came out and played the way we did," first-year CMU coach Jake Sabol said.
Vitas (1-2) went four innings in relief of starter Sean Knorr, who tossed three shutout innings but did not return after a 30-minute lightning delay. Vitas surrendered one run on four hits, struck out a career-high six, and walked one.
Save for a sixth-inning triple, the Cardinals didn't hit a ball hard off of him.
"That's the Ben Vitas we saw all fall and winter and expected," Sabol said. "He's taken his lumps as the season has gone on and been moved in and out of roles and he's been waiting for his opportunity. He hasn't had one in the last couple of weeks.
"Doesn't matter who the opponent is, you've got to go out there and execute who you are and help the team win and he did a really nice job of doing that today. He had good stuff today. If you look at his numbers throughout the year, he's been getting hit a little bit, he's been in the zone, he's been throwing a ton of strikes, but the stuff was much better today.
"Hopefully today was a good confidence booster for him."
The Chippewas collected just seven hits, but they drew seven walks – two of them with the bases loaded -- and took advantage of three Saginaw Valley (14-7) errors.
Most importantly, the Chippewas got clutch hits, specifically from Murphy and Wuestenfeld. Murphy's homer, his team-leading third of the season, and Wuestenfeld's two-run double highlighted CMU's seven-run sixth.
Murphy and Drew Loikits, both of whom are freshmen, finished with two hits each.
"We've just been talking lately about having really good days in practice and if we can sneak out a win – whether you do it the way you want to or it's ugly, those are confidence boosters," Sabol said. "We've been figuring some things out with the lineup. It isn't changing as much as it was earlier in the year and we're starting to get some stability and consistency with guys from a position-player standpoint and that certainly helps. They can get their feet wet and feel their way through some success.
"We needed a big hit with runners in scoring position – like Danny got today, like Murphy got, and we got a few times over the weekend (at Ohio). We need a couple of arms to go in there and throw up some zeros and allow us to breathe.
"We have done that the last four, five, six games and I think our guys are starting to realize we can win some baseball games with the roster we have if we do the right things."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vitas, Ben (1-2)
L: JJ Arbini (0-4)
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Batting:
3B: Colin Cornwell 1
RBI: Colin Cornwell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brandon Scheurer 1
Batting:
2B: Wuestenfeld, Danny 1 ; Murphy, Mikey 1 ; Loikits, Drew 1
HR: Murphy, Mikey 1
RBI: Brill, Jake 1 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 2 ; Donahue, Jacob 1 ; Prout, Cole 1 ; Murphy, Mikey 2 ; Stengren, Drew 1 ; Loikits, Drew 1 ; Stuart, Ely 1
SF: Brill, Jake 1 ; Donahue, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brill, Jake 1 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1 ; Donahue, Jacob 2 ; Prout, Cole 1 ; Murphy, Mikey 1 ; Stengren, Drew 1 ; Webb, Bryson 2 ; Loikits, Drew 1 ; Stuart, Ely 1
SB: Brill, Jake 1 ; Donahue, Jacob 1 ; Prout, Cole 1 ; Webb, Bryson 1
CS: Murphy, Mikey 1
HBP: Prout, Cole 2 ; Webb, Bryson 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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