Chippewas' Dunham Stops Bulls in 3-0 MAC Win

Central Michigan junior tosses five-hit shutout to down Buffalo in series opener

Tony Kurtz

BUFFALO, NY - Central Michigan's Ty Dunham once again showed why he leads the Mid-American Conference in innings pitched on Friday afternoon.

The 6-4 junior shrewdly used 103 pitches as he tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout to beat the University at Buffalo baseball team, 3-0, on a sun-speckled day at Amherst Audubon Field.

Dunham (7-3) struck out three and walked just one batter to earn his fourth complete game and second shutout of the season to raise his season total to 99.1 innings in just 13 starts.

The Chippewas (33-15 overall, 13-6 MAC) cracked the scoreboard in the second inning as freshman Tony Kurtz (Newfane, NY/Newfane) allowed a walk, a passed ball and a wild pitch to get Bryan Mitzel to third base. David Latour also walked before Kurtz struck out a batter with two outs. On an 0-2 count to Derek Schaller, Latour took off for second, drawing a throw to allow Mitzel to score on the double steal.

Central Michigan put another crooked number on the scoreboard in the fourth as two walks and two singles helped it take a 2-0 lead. It added another run in the top of the sixth as Jeremy Crum earned a two-out walk and Schaller followed with a wind-blown double that drifted away from the Buffalo left fielder and sliced just inside the left field line, allowing Crum to score.

Buffalo (15-28-1 overall, 2-12-1 MAC) managed to get two runners on base just twice, but no batter ever reached third base on Dunham.

Kurtz (5-3) pitched well for the Bulls, despite his bouts with wildness that led to seven walks. He scattered seven hits to allow just two earned runs as he struck out nine men in his first career complete game.

Crum was the lone player to have two hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Buffalo and Central Michigan return to Amherst Audubon Field on Saturday for the second game of the three-game set at 1:00 pm.

05/13/2005