Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Splits With Michigan
4/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 12, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT--The Central Michigan University softball team (12-6 overall) did something on Wednesday that it hasn't been able to do since April 1 -- get on the diamond and play. The Chippewas didn't show any ill effects from the layoff in a doubleheader split with the University of Michigan (29-8 overall) at the CMU Softball Complex.
CMU shutout Michigan, 3-0, in the opening game while the No. 12-ranked Wolverines took the nightcap by a 1-0 count.
Senior Tina Kinney (Glendale, CA) picked up her eighth straight win in the opening game with the complete-game shutout. Kinney gave up six hits and struck out three to raise her record to 8-2 on the year.
With the victory, Kinney is now alone in first place on CMU's career wins list with 61. She is also first in career innings pitched (617.3) and complete games (70) and is second in strikeouts (424) and third in shutouts (28) and appearances (104).
The Chippewas did all of their scoring in the first two innings. CMU scored one in the first when Hope Robertshaw (LaCrescenta, CA/Jr.) drove in Becky Manson (Rockford/So.) with a suicide squeeze. CMU then scored two more in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead. Jen Skuta (Pinconning/So.) drove in pinch runner Jaime Simmons (Waterford/Sr.) with a triple and later scored on an error.
Kinney and the Chippewa defense kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard to preserve the victory.
Jamie Gillies took the loss for the Wolverines. She gave up five hits and three runs to make her record 6-2.
Game two was a pitchers duel between CMU starter Jenni Rasmussen (Saginaw/Fr.) and Michigan starter Marissa Young.
Rasmussen shutout the Wolverines for three innings before giving way to Wendy Stephens (Mira Loma, CA/So.) who kept U of M off the scoreboard until the top of the seventh.
The Wolverines scored a run to take a 1-0 lead when Chrissy Garza had an RBI single to score Mary Conner.
The Chippewas got runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the seventh but Young struck out two straight to improve her record to 11-1.
Young had a no-hitter going for Michigan for 4 2/3 innings until Amy Morrison (Fenton/Jr.) had a single to break it up. The Chippewas had just one other hit on the day - a single by Robertshaw in the seventh inning.
Stephens took the loss for CMU to make her record 4-3 on the year. She gave up one run and five hits while striking out two.
CMU returns to action this weekend in a key Mid-American Conference series at Northern Illinois. Central takes on NIU in a single game on April 14 and faces the Huskies in a doubleheader on April 15.
