CMU baseball beats Florida Gulf Coast in extra innings

By Anthony Fenech, Senior Reporter || February 19, 2011

He stepped to the plate in extra innings as the only Central Michigan batter without a hit.

But two strikes and one gritty at-bat later, Jordan Adams was the Chippewas batter with the biggest hit.

The sophomore designated hitter delivered a game-winning RBI single in the top of the 10th inning as the team opened its season with an 8-6 win at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla.

“It was a heck of an at-bat,” said CMU head coach Steve Jaksa. “I was real proud of how he battled.”

With a man on third and two outs, Adams fell behind in the count to hard-throwing FGCU right-hander Jacob Barnes and smacked a breaking ball up the middle to score Matt Faiman.

“He was coming at him, [Jordan] fouled a couple of pitches off and the guy threw him a breaking ball,” Jaksa said. “He didn’t do anything but hit it hard up the middle for a nice clean single.”

Junior first baseman Nate Theunissen followed the single with a double down the right field line, scoring Adams and giving the Chippewas a two-run lead they would not relinquish, just an inning after blowing a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth.

“Our guys battled,” Jaksa said. “They got some hits and earned the runs.”

A pair of two-out RBI singles by FGCU tied the game before Eagles first baseman Justin Maxfield singled off of junior reliever Jon Weaver to tie the game at six.

“They didn’t quit,” Jaksa said of FGCU.

CMU scored four runs on five hits in the fifth inning thanks to RBI doubles from William Arnold and Brendan Emmett and a RBI triple from senior third baseman Tyler Hall.

Chippewas starter Trent Howard was chased by Maxfield’s two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning. The junior struck out eight, walked a pair and allowed two hits.

“It’s good any time you get a win to start the season,” Jaksa said.

CMU (1-0) plays the FGCU in an afternoon doubleheader today starting at 1 p.m.