Thursday, March 9
Clearwater, Fla.
11:00 AM

Lehigh University

4
vs
14

Central Michigan

Central Michigan downs Lehigh on Thursday

3/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Lehigh dropped its third consecutive game as the Mountain Hawks fell to Central Michigan by a 14-4 score at Jack Russell Stadium on Thursday.  The Mountain Hawks were plagued by control problems on the mound, as the Lehigh hurlers issued 12 free passes in the game.  The loss drops the Mountain Hawks to 5-5 on the season, while the Chippewas improve to 5-6 with the victory.

 

Lehigh’s record now stands at 2-4 on its stint in Clearwater.

 

Lehigh catcher Matt McBride continued to swing a strong bat at the plate, ripping two more hits and driving in two more runs.  McBride leads the team with a .526 season average and 14 runs driven in.  No other player on the Mountain Hawks had more than one hit in Thursday’s setback. 

 

In addition to the 12 walks, the Central Michigan offense ripped 13 hits on the day.  The score could have been even more lopsided; the Chippewas stranded 14 runners on base.

 

After being set down quietly in the first, CMU exploded for nine unanswered runs to build a 9-0 lead before Lehigh got on the board in the bottom of the sixth.  CMU tacked on five more in the ninth, thanks in part to back-to-back homers from first baseman Ben Humphrey and designated hitter Bryan Mitzel.

 

Central Michigan was led by Humphrey, as he was 3-for-5 with a homer and four runs driven in. 

 

Things don’t get any easier for the Brown and White, as Lehigh returns to action at Jack Russell Stadium on Friday with a pair of games against Ohio State.  The first nine-inning game gets underway at 1:00 pm, with another nine-inning affair to follow at 4:00 pm.