Huntey powers baseball past Miami, baseball sweeps weekend series
A blowout shutout followed by a pair of one-run nail biters helped Central Michigan baseball sweep Miami University on the road this weekend.
CMU is now 18-10 and 5-1 in the Mid-American Conference while Miami (Ohio) falls to 4-19 and 2-4 in the MAC.
Sunday:
Head Coach Steve Jaksa called Sunday’s matchup a “yo-yo back and forth” game. After three lead changes over a one-and-a-half inning span, the dust cleared and the Chippewas emerged victorious, 8-7.
The first inning was near disastrous for CMU with a pair of errors and a RedHawk base hit, but senior catcher Tyler Huntey recorded two of the three outs in the inning, throwing out two runners trying to steal second base.
The Chippewas escaped allowing just one run.
“A lot of times you can’t really see the runners running,” Huntey said. “You have to count on the dugout to let you know when they’re going to give you the best jump.”
Huntey threw out all four RedHawks that attempted a steal Sunday. The Stanwood native was just as effective at the plate as he was behind the plate, with a pair of doubles, three RBI’s and a run.
“He played at the championship level,” Jaksa said. “He threw out runners all weekend. That’s what guys need to do. Step up in big situations.”
Huntey scored a run to tie the game 1-1, drove in a run to tie it 2-2 and broke a 6-6 tie with a two-run double, which ended up being the game-deciding runs.
Junior pitcher Jason Gamble (4-1, 3.08 ERA) gave up six runs and eight hits over five innings Sunday, but still earned the victory. Junior pitcher Sean Renzi picked up his second save of the season with two scoreless and hitless innings.
CMU’s next game is Wednesday at the University of Michigan at 4:05 p.m.
Saturday:
The Miami (Ohio) defense had five fewer errors Saturday than it had Friday, but it was still a RedHawk defensive miscue Saturday that helped CMU win 4-3.
CMU trailed Miami (Ohio) 3-1 with two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, but a rally was sparked by Huntey’s walk.
Junior outfielder Logan Regnier singled and a wild pitch allowed Huntey to score. Regnier would score to tie the game 3-3 on freshman designated hitter Daniel Jipping’s base hit.
“It was very exhilarating the way we came back and won that game,” said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. “They were fighting like hell to get this one.”
A trio of Chippewa singles in the seventh inning scored the winning run.
Freshman pitcher Sean Martens (3-0, 0.60 ERA) earned the win, pitching three innings and giving up one hit and no runs. Martens replaced the starter, junior Adam Aldred, in the fourth inning.
Friday:
Miami (Ohio) pitcher Ryan Powers was drafted in the 22nd round of the MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies but it was CMU sophomore pitcher Nick Deeg who shut down hitters Friday.
Deeg (4-2, 2.00 ERA) pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out six batters.
“He threw his changeup very well, I thought,” Jaksa said. “We played flawless defense, we didn’t give up any errors. Then we start tacking on some runs, so we were able to keep the pressure on them and Nick was able to keep his focus.”
The Chippewa offense had no trouble, scoring in every inning but the second, third and ninth.
