Friday, April 15
Bowling Green, Ohio
3 p.m.
Central Michigan University
19-10, 14-1
18
at
11
Bowling Green
9-21, 6-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
1
5
4
1
3
2
2
0
18
15
0
Bowling Green
0
1
0
2
2
3
3
0
0
11
14
3
Sophomore Nick Dardas hit his first career homer, one of a season-high four round-trippers, for CMU on Friday.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Offensive Fireworks Continue As Baseball Takes Series Opener At Bowling Green
4/15/2022 8:28:00 PM | Baseball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Another game, another offensive outburst – and another victory – for the Central Michigan baseball team.
Danny Wuestenfeld had four of the Chippewas' 15 hits and CMU hit a season-high four home runs on Friday as the Chippewas opened a four-game Mid-American Conference series with an 18-11 victory over Bowling Green at blustery Steller Field.
The Chippewas won their 14th consecutive MAC game in improving to 14-1 in league play. They lead Ball State, which is 13-2 in the conference, by one game. The Chippewas extended their win streak to 10 games, improving to 20-10.
The 14-game MAC win streak ties for the longest in coach Jordan Bischel's four-year tenure in charge of the program. The 2019 Chippewas won their final 14 MAC games to capture the conference regular season title, and then went on to extend their win streak over league teams to 17 as they captured the MAC Tournament with three consecutive victories.
The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday (noon) and then will close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.).
The Chippewas' hit total tied their season high – they set the mark on Tuesday in a 21-8 nonconference win at Oakland – and their 18 runs are their second-highest output of the season. They also drew 13 walks, their second most this season behind the 14 they registered on Tuesday at Oakland.
"Offensively we did a really nice job of not getting too big with our swings, not trying to do too much, taking our walks, and squaring up balls," Bischel said. "Some of those (hits) that maybe traditionally are doubles turned into home runs because of the wind. I thought our guys on offense did a really nice job of staying disciplined."
Mario Camilletti, Garrett Navarra, Adam Proctor and Nick Dardas homered for CMU, which built a 10-1 lead through 3 ½ innings and then continued to add on and keep the Falcons (9-21, 6-13) in the rearview mirror. CMU scored in every inning except the first and the ninth.
Camilletti homered leading off the third, Navarra homered leading off the sixth, Proctor hit a two-run shot in the second, and Dardas, a sophomore catcher, hit his first career round-tripper, a two-run shot, in the fifth.
"He's just missed a couple both this year and last year," Bischel said of Dardas. "He does a pretty good job at the plate, and it doesn't always show up in the stat line. He always has competitive at-bats; he competes up there. It was good to see it pay off for sure."
It was the third homer of the season for Proctor, the second for Camilletti, and the first for Navarra. Camilletti, Jakob Marsee and Navarra finished with two hits apiece.
Justin Simpson delivered the other big blow for CMU, a three-run double in the third that made it 9-1. Eight of CMU's 15 hits went for extra bases.
Wuestenfeld, who on Tuesday was named the MAC Player of the Week for the second time this season, continued his torrid streak at the plate. His four hits were a career high, and he finished with three RBI.
Wuestenfeld, a sophomore first baseman and the Chippewas' cleanup hitter, extended his hit streak to five games and he has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games. He is hitting .436 with three homers and 27 RBI over that span. He has 25 hits, 10 of them for extra bases, and seven times he has produced a multi-hit game in that 16-game stretch.
He has raised his average to a season-high .330 and ranks third on the team in that category.
"We saw at the end of the fall," Bischel said, "that he started to really show that he could be a special hitter for us. He's kind of a half freshman this year; he only had about 50 career at-bats (before the season) and you saw that not so much physically, but mentally. He could be a little hard on himself.
"Now he's really settled into the box, his mind is calm, and once a guy gets to that point the game gets a lot slower and that's what's happened. The game has slowed down for him. He's clear-headed. He's going to have his ups and downs, but he's in a really good spot mentally."
CMU starter Jordan Patty (4-2) allowed eight runs on 11 hits, walked three and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings for the win. Ryan Insco and Jake Jones worked in relief. Three of the hits that Patty allowed were home runs.
"Today was a really challenging day for pitchers," Bischel said. "The ball was carrying incredibly well, and the wind can impact pitch location a little bit too. I thought what we did really well on the pitching side was manage it; we didn't give up the big inning. We gave up a couple of twos or threes, but we never gave them that big one and they were never able to close the gap because of that.
"(Patty) threw better than the results. At the end of the day, he pitched well enough to win the game, which is the goal. It was a hard day to pitch and when he came out of the game it was 14-7. We'll take our starting pitcher going into the sixth inning and giving us a seven-run lead every single time."
Jones was particularly effective out of the bullpen. He set down the Falcons in order on five pitches in the eighth and then surrendered a harmless two-out double in an otherwise efficient ninth.
"Jake Jones was outstanding," Bischel said. "On a tough day like today to pitch, that was a great effort."
Danny Wuestenfeld had four of the Chippewas' 15 hits and CMU hit a season-high four home runs on Friday as the Chippewas opened a four-game Mid-American Conference series with an 18-11 victory over Bowling Green at blustery Steller Field.
The Chippewas won their 14th consecutive MAC game in improving to 14-1 in league play. They lead Ball State, which is 13-2 in the conference, by one game. The Chippewas extended their win streak to 10 games, improving to 20-10.
The 14-game MAC win streak ties for the longest in coach Jordan Bischel's four-year tenure in charge of the program. The 2019 Chippewas won their final 14 MAC games to capture the conference regular season title, and then went on to extend their win streak over league teams to 17 as they captured the MAC Tournament with three consecutive victories.
The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday (noon) and then will close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.).
The Chippewas' hit total tied their season high – they set the mark on Tuesday in a 21-8 nonconference win at Oakland – and their 18 runs are their second-highest output of the season. They also drew 13 walks, their second most this season behind the 14 they registered on Tuesday at Oakland.
"Offensively we did a really nice job of not getting too big with our swings, not trying to do too much, taking our walks, and squaring up balls," Bischel said. "Some of those (hits) that maybe traditionally are doubles turned into home runs because of the wind. I thought our guys on offense did a really nice job of staying disciplined."
Mario Camilletti, Garrett Navarra, Adam Proctor and Nick Dardas homered for CMU, which built a 10-1 lead through 3 ½ innings and then continued to add on and keep the Falcons (9-21, 6-13) in the rearview mirror. CMU scored in every inning except the first and the ninth.
Camilletti homered leading off the third, Navarra homered leading off the sixth, Proctor hit a two-run shot in the second, and Dardas, a sophomore catcher, hit his first career round-tripper, a two-run shot, in the fifth.
"He's just missed a couple both this year and last year," Bischel said of Dardas. "He does a pretty good job at the plate, and it doesn't always show up in the stat line. He always has competitive at-bats; he competes up there. It was good to see it pay off for sure."
It was the third homer of the season for Proctor, the second for Camilletti, and the first for Navarra. Camilletti, Jakob Marsee and Navarra finished with two hits apiece.
Justin Simpson delivered the other big blow for CMU, a three-run double in the third that made it 9-1. Eight of CMU's 15 hits went for extra bases.
Wuestenfeld, who on Tuesday was named the MAC Player of the Week for the second time this season, continued his torrid streak at the plate. His four hits were a career high, and he finished with three RBI.
Wuestenfeld, a sophomore first baseman and the Chippewas' cleanup hitter, extended his hit streak to five games and he has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games. He is hitting .436 with three homers and 27 RBI over that span. He has 25 hits, 10 of them for extra bases, and seven times he has produced a multi-hit game in that 16-game stretch.
He has raised his average to a season-high .330 and ranks third on the team in that category.
"We saw at the end of the fall," Bischel said, "that he started to really show that he could be a special hitter for us. He's kind of a half freshman this year; he only had about 50 career at-bats (before the season) and you saw that not so much physically, but mentally. He could be a little hard on himself.
"Now he's really settled into the box, his mind is calm, and once a guy gets to that point the game gets a lot slower and that's what's happened. The game has slowed down for him. He's clear-headed. He's going to have his ups and downs, but he's in a really good spot mentally."
CMU starter Jordan Patty (4-2) allowed eight runs on 11 hits, walked three and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings for the win. Ryan Insco and Jake Jones worked in relief. Three of the hits that Patty allowed were home runs.
"Today was a really challenging day for pitchers," Bischel said. "The ball was carrying incredibly well, and the wind can impact pitch location a little bit too. I thought what we did really well on the pitching side was manage it; we didn't give up the big inning. We gave up a couple of twos or threes, but we never gave them that big one and they were never able to close the gap because of that.
"(Patty) threw better than the results. At the end of the day, he pitched well enough to win the game, which is the goal. It was a hard day to pitch and when he came out of the game it was 14-7. We'll take our starting pitcher going into the sixth inning and giving us a seven-run lead every single time."
Jones was particularly effective out of the bullpen. He set down the Falcons in order on five pitches in the eighth and then surrendered a harmless two-out double in an otherwise efficient ninth.
"Jake Jones was outstanding," Bischel said. "On a tough day like today to pitch, that was a great effort."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Patty, Jordan (4-2)
L: SCHENK, Gage (1-4)
Batting:
2B: Marsee, Jakob 1 ; Simpson, Justin 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 1
3B: Marsee, Jakob 1
HR: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 1 ; Proctor, Adam 1 ; Dardas, Nick 1
RBI: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Marsee, Jakob 1 ; Simpson, Justin 3 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 3 ; Shepardson, Aidan 1 ; Navarra, Garrett 2 ; Proctor, Adam 2 ; Lechnir, Zach 1 ; Dardas, Nick 2
SH: Simpson, Justin 1
SF: Lechnir, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Camilletti, Mario 3 ; Marsee, Jakob 3 ; Simpson, Justin 3 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1 ; Shepardson, Aidan 2 ; Navarra, Garrett 2 ; Proctor, Adam 2 ; Dardas, Nick 2
SB: Simpson, Justin 2 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1
CS: Mrakitsch, Adam 1
HBP: Camilletti, Mario 1 ; Marsee, Jakob 1 ; Wuestenfeld, Danny 1
Batting:
2B: KRAUSE, Jack 1 ; FUGITT, Justin 1 ; ROSS, Tyler 1 ; ARCHER, Nathan 1 ; JOHNSON, Jared 1
3B: FALLON, Adam 1
HR: GURNEY, Kyle 1 ; ARCHER, Nathan 2
RBI: FALLON, Adam 3 ; GURNEY, Kyle 2 ; ROSE, Nathan 1 ; ROSS, Tyler 1 ; ARCHER, Nathan 3
SF: ROSE, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KRAUSE, Jack 1 ; FALLON, Adam 3 ; GURNEY, Kyle 1 ; FURNAS, Adam 1 ; FUGITT, Justin 1 ; ARCHER, Nathan 3 ; JOHNSTON, Ryan 1
SB: FALLON, Adam 2
HBP: JOHNSTON, Ryan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
3
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
rf/cf
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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C/INF
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RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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INF
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