Steve Jaksa on rainout: 'It's a little bit of a downer'
Head baseball coach Steve Jaksa has seen a lot in his time, so a rainout is hardly a big deal to him.
Still, Jaksa, who is in his 10th year as head coach of the CMU baseball program, couldn't help but feel bad for his players following the suspension of their game at Comerica Park in Detroit Wednesday night.
"It’s a little bit of a downer, no question," he said. "We have 18 new guys on the roster this year, and they were all looking forward to playing here."
The game against Michigan State was suspended in the fifth inning with the Spartans leading 1-0 due to heavy rainfall in the area. It will be resumed on May 14 in Mount Pleasant.
CMU's players were clearly upset walking off the field, but Jaksa understands that, in the game of baseball, you have to deal with things like this.
"It's baseball, so you have roll with the punches," Jaksa said. "I think the guys were real excited to play here. It's always disappointing when you can't finish the game and do the things you’d like to do, but, at the same time, you can't control the weather."
Wednesday's game between the Chippewas and Spartans marked the third-straight year that the rivals have played a game at the home of the Detroit Tigers. Instead of dwelling on what didn't happen, Jaksa is keeping things in perspective.
"Hopefully, we will get down here next year," he said. "This was the one game you look forward to. It's at a different venue and a major league park that you don’t get to play at very often; it's unique to our program. The Tigers have been great to our program, so, hopefully, it will continue."
The Chippewas had men on first and second with no outs when play was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning, and that's exactly how the teams will take the field when play resumes on May 14.
