BSU's Jameson, CMU's Warren Earn Weekly Baseball Accolades
MAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Drey Jameson, Ball State, RHP
Sophomore, Greenfield, Ind.
Jameson struck out 12 and allowed just 1 run over 7.0 innings in a 4-2 win over Bowling Green on Friday. On Tuesday, he started and pitched the 1st inning on what was a bullpen day. He made quick work of the top of #23 Indiana's lineup, striking out the side in 14 pitches. For the week, he scattered 4 singles and held batters to a .143 average while totaling 15 strikeouts over 8.0 innings.
MAC Baseball Player of the Week
Zavier Warren, Central Michigan , SS
Sophomore, Southfield, Mich. (Birmingham Groves)
Warren was an offensive juggernaut this past week as the Chippewas finished 3-1 including a MAC series sweep of rival Western Michigan at home. The Southfield, Mich., native finished the week batting at a .474 clip with nine hits, two home runs and 10 RBIs to go along with a .947 slugging percentage. In Tuesday's 26-19 shootout loss to non-conference Davenport, Warren went 5-of-7 at the plate with a double and a grand slam and finished with eight RBI. On Friday's 5-4 series opening victory over the Broncos, Warren went 2-of-4 at the dish including a double and a walk. On Sunday's 11-8 victory in the finale, Warren went 2-of-3 and launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning to spark the Chippewa comeback and propel CMU to it's first series sweep of WMU since 2015.
Other Nominees
Ross Messina, Ball State, OF
Junior, Kansas City, Mo.
Messina batted .500 with 2 home runs as Ball State went 3-1 for the week and swept a home MAC series. He hit a 2-run homer to cap a 3-for-4 effort in Friday's 4-2 win over Bowling Green. The next day, he homered in the 8th inning to lift Ball State to a 3-2 win. He also went 2-for-4 and scored twice in a loss to #23 Indiana at Victory Field.
Chase Antle, Bowling Green,
RHP, Redshirt-Junior, Grove City, Ohio (Grove City)
Antle pitched brilliantly in Bowling Green's series finale at Ball State, striking out 10 batters over 6.0 innings. Antle, who brought a no-hitter into the fifth inning, allowed just two hits. Over his last four appearances (12.0 innings), the right-hander has allowed four hits and zero runs while striking out 17 batters.
Pat Leatherman, Central Michigan, RHP
Senior, Jenison, Mich. (Jenison)
Leatherman continued a stellar senior campaign this past week turning in one of his best outings of the season as the Chippewas claimed a MAC series sweep of Western Michgan. Getting the nod in game two of the series on Saturday, Leatherman worked seven frames of one-run baseball to lead CMU to a 6-1 victory. He surrendered just three hits and racked up nine punch outs, his second highest total of the season. Leatherman improved his record to 6-1 on the season with an impressive 2.70 ERA.
Nate Jones, Eastern Michigan, OF
Sophomore, Battle Creek, Mich. / Lakeview
Jones was clutch in the three-game sweep of the University of Toledo, April 26-28, at Oestrike Stadium. Jones posted five hits in 11 at-bats for a .455 batting average with a team-best four RBI and three stolen bases. Three of Jones' RBIs occurred with two outs on the scoreboard, as he notched a .667 average with two away in an inning. Overall, Jones notched at least one hit in every contest to extend his hitting streak to five, while posting a pair of RBIs in games one and three of the series. His sixth inning RBI single through the left side proved to be the difference in the finale as Eastern won 6-5 for its first sweep in Mid-American Conference play since May 12-14, 2017, at Northern Illinois University.
Caleb Hester, Eastern Michigan, LHP
Redshirt Junior, Coloma, Mich. / Coloma
Eastern Michigan redshirt junior Caleb Hester picked up a pair of saves in the closer role in the series sweep over the University of Toledo, April 26-28. The back-to-back saves were the first of his career and the first time the same EMU hurler had picked up saves in consecutive contests since 2015 when Sam Delaplane closed out Western Michigan, April 4-5. Overall, Hester tossed 3.0 innings allowing three hits while striking out a pair of Rockets. Hester mad quick work of UT in the ninth on Saturday, but had to get the final two outs of Sunday's contest with the tieing run standing at third base. The sweep is EMU's first in Mid-American Conference play since May 12-14, 2017, at Northern Illinois University.
Ben Carew, Kent State, OF
Redshirt sophomore, Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly)
Carew was a consistent offensive threat at the top of the order for the Flashes, and was instrumental in three wins on the week. Through four games, the Appleton, Wis. native posted a .471 average, .941 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage, knocking eight hits with two home runs and two doubles. He led the offense with seven runs scored and six RBIs. In the series opener at Ohio University, Carew went 3-for-5 at the plate and ended the night just a triple short of the cycle. The next day, he laced his second home run of the series, picking up a pair of hits with three runs scored and two RBIs. Carew is currently on a seven-game hitting streak dating back to April 19, and has reached base in each of the last 22 games. On the season he ranks second in the MAC in batting average (.396) and hits (65), fifth in on-base percentage (.463), and third in both runs scored (42) and stolen bases (19).
John Matthews, Kent State, RHP
Junior, Punxsutawney, Pa. (Punxsutawney)
Matthews slammed the door on the Bobcats, earning a win with 6.1 innings of relief. In the second game of the series, Ohio jumped out to an 8-2 lead before Matthews entered the game and held the Bobcats to just three hits through the remainder of the game, allowing the offense to chip away at the deficit and go on to complete the come-from-behind victory. On the night, Matthews struck out six, moving to fourth in the conference in overall strikeouts (64) and batters struck out looking (21). His 15 batters struck out looking in conference play is tied for second in the MAC.
Sam Bachman, Miami, Pitcher
Freshman, Fishers, Ind (Hamilton Southeastern)
Bachman helped lead the RedHawks to a 12-0 shutout of Northern Illinois on Friday. The freshman threw six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits while striking out five. He improved his record to 6-0 during his rookie campaign.
Jake Dunham, NIU, Catcher
Junior, Plainfield, Ill. (Plainfield North)
Dunham drove in six runs last week as NIU went 2-2 last week, winning the series at first-place Miami. The junior catcher had a hit in all four games over the week. In Saturday's 6-3 win over the RedHawks, Dunham put NIU on the board with a two-run double in the top of the first. Dunham had three RBI in Sunday's series-clinching 13-3 win on a two-run single in the seventh and a bases loaded walk in the eighth. The junior has reached base in each of the last seven games.
Michael Lasiewicz, NIU, Pitcher
Sophomore, McHenry, Ill. (McHenry)
Lasiewicz recorded his fourth quality start of the season, allowing three runs in six innings in NIU's 6-3 win at Miami on April 27. The sophomore had six strikeouts while allowing seven hits and two walks. It was his sixth start this season with at least five strikeouts.
Rudy Rott, Ohio, 1B
Senior, Holmen, Wis. (La Crosse Aquinas)
As he chases down the all-time hits record at Ohio, Rudy Rott managed to find his way on base on more times than not this weekend. Rott had an on-base percentage of .647 as he went 7-of-13. Rott knocked in two RBI and reached base an impressive 11 times last week. Rott had one extra base hit, a double, and a slugging percentage of .615. Rott is now 18 hits away from tying the all-time hits record at Ohio.
Kenny Ogg, Ohio, RHP
Senior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Lawrence Central)
Coming off a complete game win last week, senior RHP Kenny Ogg was phenomenal once again in Ohio's 1-0 win over Kent State. Ogg tossed 8.0 innings of shutout baseball while allowing just seven batters to reach base, allowing just five hits and two walks. Ogg fanned five batters in the game and is 3-6 this season.
Blake Dunn, Western Michigan, Outfielder
Sophomore, Saugatuck, Mich. (Saugatuck)
Over the weekend at Central Michigan, Dunn led the team with a .444 batting average along with a staggering .778 slugging percentage and .615 on-base percentage. In the series finale against the Chippewas, Dunn finished a home run shy of completing the cycle for the second time this season, going 3-for-4 with two RBIS and three runs scored. On Sunday, it was Dunn’s 22nd multi-hit game of the season and 8th multi-RBI game. In nine at-bats, Dunn struck out just twice while drawing two walks along with one stolen base. This season, Dunn leads the team with a .410 batting average and has recorded at least one hit in 34 of WMU’s 39 games played.
