Baseball looks to return to winning ways against Northern Illinois
The baseball team will try to get back to its winning ways when it hosts Northern Illinois at Theunissen Stadium this weekend for a three-game series.
The series starts at 3:05 Friday, with 2:05 and 1:05 start times on Saturday and Sunday.
The Chippewas have lost five of their last six games and are coming off a dismal 7-0 loss to Michigan on Wednesday.
“I just think we can play a lot better than this,” said head coach Steve Jaksa after the loss. “A few of our guys are thinking too much. We need to focus on what we’re trying to accomplish.”
This weekend’s series against the Huskies could be the perfect opportunity for CMU to snap out of its funk. The Chippewas have swept NIU in each of the past two seasons, and Jaksa has an all-time record of 21-12 against the Mid-American Conference West Division rivals.
Still, CMU will have to be at its best against the Huskies, who have won four-straight games, including a win over Milwaukee on Wednesday and a three-game sweep of Akron last weekend.
“I just think the most important thing we have to do between now and Friday is get the team back to focusing on the things they need to do to be successful in every at-bat,” Jaksa said. “Our guys need to stop thinking so much and make sure we’re coming to play hard instead of waiting for or thinking something bad is going to happen.”
Sophomore pitcher Jordan Foley (4-1, 0.94 ERA) will start for CMU in the series opener on Friday. Sophomore Dylan Rheault (1-1. 6.29 ERA) will start on Saturday, and senior Rick Dodridge (1-3. 2. 45 ERA) will start the finale on Sunday.
The Huskies’ offense is led by junior Jeff Zimmerman, who leads the team in batting average (.330) and RBI (14).
The NIU lineup has combined for just four home runs this season, and CMU hopes to use its home-field advantage to its favor, but, regardless of where the game is being played, CMU has to be ready.
“We need to be in a better place mentally by Friday,” Jaksa said.
