Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Heads To California
2/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 28, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT--The Central Michigan University softball team (1-4, 0-0 Mid-American) returns to the diamond again next week as part of its annual spring trip. This year the Chippewas will venture West to the golden state of California. Central will play three doubleheaders at the beginning of the week before participating in the National Invitational Softball Tournament hosted by San Jose State, March 10-12.
The Chippewas will play doubleheaders at Santa Clara (1-9, Independent), at St. Mary's (4-6, Independent) and versus Baylor (10-9, 0-0 Big 12). CMU will open the NIT tournament with pool play games against Baylor, Virginia (2-11, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) and Pacific (6-4, 0-0 Big West). Top 25 teams competing in the tournament, but not in CMU's pool, include No. 6 Arizona State, No. 8 California, No. 19 Long Beach State and No. 21 Nebraska. CMU received seven votes in the poll after starting the season with a No. 23 ranking in the preseason.
"We are looking forward to getting back outside," coach Margo Jonker said. "It will be a good opportunity to play some doubleheaders prior to going into the San Jose Tournament. The San Jose tournament is an excellent tournament with good competition and nice facilities. We are looking forward to the whole experience."
The Chippewas opened the season Feb. 18-20 with a 1-4 record in the UNLV Classic Tournament.
"We had a chance to evaluate the Las Vegas trip and work on our weaknesses and improve our strengths," Jonker said. "I am confident we'll come away with some good experience and some wins prior to the MAC schedule."
THE 700 CLUB: Veteran coach Margo Jonker is in her 21st season at CMU and is currently two wins shy of the 700 career win plateau. She sports a career record of 698-382-5. She entered this season ranked ninth among active coaches on the NCAA's Division I career victories list. Jonker has led CMU to eight MAC titles, nine NCAA regional appearances and a spot in the 1987 College World Series. She is an assistant coach for the USA Softball team in this summer's Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Here's a brief look at the opponents CMU will face next week. Santa Clara is 1-9 overall with its lone win coming against San Diego. Pitcher Krista Barry picked up Santa Clara's win. St. Mary's is 4-6 overall and it has faced a common opponent in California. Cal beat St. Mary's 5-0 last week and CMU lost to the Golden Bears, 9-1, at UNLV. Jessica Hanaseth is hitting .438 with one home run and nine RBI. Baylor has seen significant action early this season and is 10-9 overall. The Bears are coming off a third-place finish at the Purple and Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. Carrie Arn is 3-2 on the mound. Virginia is 2-11 overall and the Cavaliers are coming off a 1-5 showing at the Morning News Invitational in Fayettesville, Ark. Pacific is 6-4 overall with a tournament title at the UNVL Tri-Tournament. Pacific was 3-1 in the tournament, including a win over Texas A&M which received votes in the national poll.
BRINGING OUT THE BATS: One area the Chippewas will be looking to improve upon next week is hitting. As a team, CMU is batting .169 this season compared to the opponents' .224 mark. Central only managed to manufacture nine runs in the five games at UNLV while the opponents crossed the plate 23 times.
TOP GUN: Senior Tina Kinney (Glendale, CA) leads the team at the plate in the early goings. She is hitting .417 with two doubles and a pair of RBI. Kinney hit .351 last season with 15 doubles and five home runs. The pitcher is 1-2 on the mound with a 5.36 ERA. She has struck out 14 batters in just over 15 innings of work. Kinney led the Mid-American Conference with a 1.14 ERA last season. She was 17-7.
SUPER SOPH: Wendy Stephens (Mira Loma, CA/So.) is 0-1 on the mound this season but she hasn't allowed an earned run in 13 innings. She has struck out eight batters and the opponents are hitting .146 against her. Stephens is second on the team with a .250 batting average.
POWER HITTER: Senior tri-captain Nicole Weston (Grand Ledge) recovered from off season surgery in time to start the season on track. She is hitting .214 with an RBI. Weston is one of the top power hitters in CMU history and ranks third in the career record books with 12 home runs.
FRESHMEN STEP IN: The Chippewas have used a number of true freshmen this season. Sarah Hamilton (Brighton/Fr.) started two games, Michelle Brander (Jenison/Fr.) one and Jenni Rasmussen (Saginaw/Fr.) one. Rasmussen started the first game of her career on the mound against then No. 12 ranked California.
