Espinoza Splendid on the Mound; Chippewas Use Big Early Innings in Taking Series Opener at Akron

Friday, April 11

Akron, Ohio

2 p.m.

Central Michigan University

13-21, 6-7

Akron

9-24, 3-13

Central Michigan

Akron

Alejandro Espinoza allowed three runs over seven innings in pitching CMU to an 11-7 victory at Akron in the opener of a three-game MAC series.

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

Espinoza Splendid on the Mound; Chippewas Use Big Early Innings in Taking Series Opener at Akron

4/11/2025 6:22:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Andy Sneddon

AKRON, Ohio – Aydin Wright had four hits and drove in four runs and Alejandro Espinoza was outstanding on the mound on Friday as Central Michigan topped Akron, 11-7, in the opener of a three-game Mid-American Conference baseball series at the Zips' Skeeles Field.

The Chippewas snapped a six-game MAC losing streak in improving to 6-7 in conference play. They are 13-21 overall. Akron is 9-24, 3-13. The teams play game two of the series on Saturday (1 p.m.).

CMU scored four runs in the second inning and four more in the fourth in giving Espinoza an 8-0 cushion.

Espinoza (2-5), a senior right-hander, allowed three runs on a season-low four hits, struck out two and walked two while throwing 96 pitches over seven innings, matching his longest outing as a Chippewa.

He allowed a one-out walk in the sixth inning and then a bunt single to end his perfect-game and no-hit bids. He surrendered one run in the sixth and a two-run homer in the seventh and left with an 8-3 lead.

"He got a lot of quick outs which was important for him," CMU coach Jake Sabol said. "He ran into a little bit of trouble there, but he got himself to the point where there was never really a question that we were running him back out there.

"He had a low pitch count, some really quick innings, and that was really effective for him."

It was Espinoza's first victory since March 14, at Ohio. In his previous two starts, he allowed a combined 14 hits and nine earned runs.

"I know coming off his last couple of outings, he wanted to bounce back so bad and we really needed him to," Sabol said. "It wasn't like he had poor outings, but we know what he's capable of doing and today just kind of showcased that.

"It's been the thing we've been talking about, to get our starters to do that a little bit more. It's not that easy and I get that, but today he was on the attack, got the ball, saw the sign, and went. He was in a good rhythm and got a lot of early, weak contact. It was good to get him back on track and on a Friday to get that first one it gets you that one game closer to winning a series on the road."

The Chippewas scored four runs on five hits, all singles, in the second inning and then got two-run doubles from Wright and Cayden Smith in the fourth.

The Chippewas swung early in the count and took advantage of an Akron error in the second inning and two walks and a double steal in the fourth. They chased Akron starter Dawson Tourney with two on and none out in the fourth.

"That's just part of our identity offensively, to be aggressive and ready for a certain pitch no matter what the count is and if we get something we've got to be ready to go no," Sabol said. "I think the key part of the offense today was getting guys on base early in the game and it allowed us to do things from a baserunning standpoint that we really haven't done in a while.

"For us to be able to get on base and do some stuff early in the game and get their starter out of there early was pretty important."

CMU finished with 14 hits, three including a double by Aaron Piasecki, two singles by Cole Kwiatkowski, and a single and a double by Zach Knowlton, who extended his hit streak to 10 games.

It was Piasecki's team-leading 14^th multi-hit game of the season.

The Chippewas played error-free defense behind Espinoza and three Chippewa relievers. It was the first time in six games that CMU has not committed a defensive miscue.

"I thought we played really good defense, probably one of the better defensive games that we've had in the last couple of weeks," Sabol said. "To be able to put up a zero in the E column is important for us. To play clean defensively was a good thing for us to see today."