WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Rhett Goodmiller smacked his first career home run to help the Central Michigan baseball team take a 7-3 decision over Jacksonville State at Henley Field on Saturday.
The top three batters in Central's order went 8-for-13 with six RBI and three runs scored, and Dan Taylor tossed eight strong innings to guide CMU to its sixth win on the season.
Billy Anderson (3-for-4, three RBI, two runs) got the Chippewas on the board in the fourth with a one out bases-loaded single. Central threatened for more, but a double-play ball ended the inning.
A pair of errors following a Reid Rooney leadoff walk gave CMU a 3-0 lead. Another RBI single by Anderson made it 4-0, and two more singles by Goodmiller and Matt Faiman drove in Anderson for a 5-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Taylor was in control. He faced just five over the minimum through the first six innings, the only real jam coming in a bases-loaded one-out mess in the second, but a double-play ball erased the threat.
A leadoff double followed by three straight ground balls would get Jacksonville State on the board in the seventh, and Taylor (2-2) would work around a leadoff single in the eighth with three fly balls in the eighth before giving way to the pen in the ninth. The senior lefty's final line was a run on five hits and two walks over 8.0 innings with four strikeouts.
CMU would add a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on an Anderson walk and Goodmiller's blast to left.
Chris Kupillas would work the ninth, giving up a pair of runs on two hits and a walk.
Central (6-9) will face Bradley on Sunday to wrap up its spring break trip. First pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m.
