Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Looks To Capture MAC Tournament Title
5/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 9, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT--The Central Michigan University softball team (27-11, 15-5 Mid-American) travels to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., this week for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament. The Chippewas are the defending MAC tournament champions after capturing the 1999 title with a 4-0 record. CMU qualified for this year's tournament as the No. 3 seed despite having the second-best MAC record this season. The two division winners occupy the top two seeds.
"One of our goals this season was to compete for the MAC championship," coach Margo Jonker said. "We did not win the title, but we felt we competed for it. Another goal was to get into the tournament and win it and now that's our current goal.
"We're ready to accept the next challenge. We need to step up our play to the next level in order to compete for the championship. Going back to NIU, where we won it last year, puts us in good shape mentally because a lot of the circumstances are similar to 1999."
CMU finished up the regular season last week by splitting MAC doubleheaders against both Kent State and Akron. The Chippewas lost to Kent, 2-0, before coming back to win the nightcap, 10-2. CMU then defeated Akron, 5-2, before falling, 3-2, in extra innings. Central completed the regular season on Monday with a twinbill sweep of Detroit, winning by scores of 8-2 and 7-2.
"Last week we weren't particularly sharp every game," Jonker said. "I'm glad we had the opportunity to play at Detroit on Monday and finish on a positive note. We played well offensively and defensively and that should prepare us for the challenge ahead. The key for us in the tournament is to play consistent ball, relax, enjoy the moment and compete hard."
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 11Game 1: #3 Central Michigan vs. #6 Ball State, 10 a.m.
Game 2: #4 Marshall vs. #5 Akron, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Bowling Green vs. Game 1 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 4: #1 Northern Illinois vs. Game 2 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 12
Game 5: Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 10 a.m.Game 6: Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13
Game 9: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner, 11 a.m.Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 participants (if necessary)
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Chippewas have won six of the eight MAC Tournament championships that the conference has hosted. A postseason tournament was held from 1982-86 and from 1996 to present. The 1996 tournament was cancelled because of weather conditions. Central won titles in 1982, '83, '85, '86, '97 and '99. CMU is 24-7 all-time in the MAC tournament.
THE 700 CLUB: Veteran coach Margo Jonker is in her 21st season at CMU and earlier this year joined the 700 club for career victories. She sports a career record of 724-391-5. Jonker 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.
A LOOK AT THE FIELD:
Akron: Akron enters the tournament with a 29-19 overall record and 12-8 MAC slate. The Zips are the MAC's top hitting team with a .295 batting average. Sherell Waston leads the squad at .368 and MAC "Freshman of the Year" candidate Tracee McCoy is hitting .362 with seven home runs.
Ball State: The No. 6 seed Cardinals head to the tourney with a 20-28 record and 9-11 MAC mark. Pitcher Marcy Mobley is 14-14 with a 1.45 ERA. She is second in the MAC with 6.93 strikeouts per game. Katie Shea is the top BSU hitter with a .309 average.
Bowling Green: The Falcons captured the East Division crown with a 30-16 overall mark and 13-7 MAC record. McKenna Houle and Jessie Milosek each won 10 games in the circle for BGSU this season. Erin Zwinck is hitting .328 with 27 RBI. Colleen Bates leads the MAC with 16 stolen bases.
Marshall: The Thundering Herd are making their first MAC tournament appearance after finishing the regular season 25-25 with a 13-7 MAC record. The MU pitching staff led the MAC with a 1.26 ERA. Sara Gulla had the second-best ERA in the MAC at 1.02 and she also led the conference in strikeouts with 7.61 per game. Nichole Corrigan led the team with a .300 batting average.
Northern Illinois: The West Divison-winning Huskies are hosting the tournament for the second straight year. NIU finished up 32-20 overall and 19-3 in the MAC. Pitcher Courtney Witvliet had the top overall ERA in the MAC at 0.98. She was 16-4 with three saves. Suzie Rizek hit .324 with 12 doubles, five home runs and a MAC-best 34 ERA.
MAC LEADERS: CMU ranked among the MAC leaders this season in fielding, pitching and hitting. Central was the top fielding team this season with a .969 mark. CMU's 1.51 ERA ranked second in the MAC and its .279 batting average was third. In MAC only games, Central was the top pitching team with a 1.00 ERA and the No. 2 hitting club at .294. The Chippewas .711 overall winning percentage was the best in the conference.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: CMU's Tina Kinney (Glendale, CA/Sr.) led the MAC in wins with 18 this season. She tied for the most shutouts with eight and ranked eighth in strikeouts with 5.07 per game. Kinney led the conference in MAC play with a 0.80 ERA and 10 wins. Kim Burke (Mount Pleasant/Jr.) was third in the MAC with a .372 batting average and Jen Skuta (Pinconning/So.) ranked seventh with a .351 mark. In MAC only games, Skuta ranked third with a .424 average and Burke sixth at .394. Sophomore Becky Manson (Rockford) is second in the MAC in stolen bases with 15.
WARM FRONT COMING THROUGH: With the rising temperatures, the Chippewas' bats have been heating up, too. CMU posted 10-plus hits in four of its last six games, including a season-high 16 against Detroit on Monday. Central has also been hitting with power lately, knocking 20 extra-base hits in the last six games, including six home runs. CMU had only three homers on the year before last weekend. In the sixth inning of the nightcap at Kent, CMU ripped eight straight hits. In that inning, Central scored eight runs on nine hits.
TOP GUN: CMU's MAC "Player of the Year" candidate, Tina Kinney, finished off the regular season with a bang last weekend. In the Detroit doubleheader, Kinney was 6-for-7 with two home runs and six RBI. At one point in the game, she had a hit in eight straight at-bats dating back to the last Akron game on Saturday. Kinney is 18-6 in the circle this season with a 1.24 ERA. She has struck out 106 batters this season while shutting out eight opponents and combining to blank another two. At the plate, Kinney hit .313 with five doubles, two home runs and a team-best 17 RBI.
RECORD BOOK WRITER: Tina Kinney has penned her name in both the Chippewa and MAC record books and she still isn't done. Kinney is closing in on the CMU career strikeout record and the MAC career victory mark. The senior is seven strikeouts away from tying Linda Pagett at the top of CMU's strikeout list with 486. Kinney, who has 71 career wins, needs one more to tie for the No. 2 spot in MAC history with former Toledo player Christin Chadwick. The MAC record is 77 wins set by Ball State's Bernie Coffman in 1986-89.
BURKE'S HOT BAT: Junior Kim Burke currently leads the Chippewas with a .372 batting average. She was 5-for-5 on the day at Detroit on Monday. The junior ranked third in the MAC in batting average during the regular season. Burke has a team-high nine doubles, one home run and 13 RBI on the season. She hit .394 in MAC only games.
SKUTA'S STEPPIN' UP: Sophomore Jen Skuta has been a threat at the plate lately. CMU's starting leftfielder is hitting .351 this season with six doubles, a team-high four triples, one home run and 15 RBI. Skuta hit .424 in MAC play, the third-best average in the conference. She leads the team with 11 extra-base hits and a slugging percentage of .500.
THE WESTON WATCH: Senior Nicole Weston (Grand Ledge/Sr.) is one home run away from tying the school record for career round-trippers. Weston hit two last week to raise her season total to three and career mark to 15. Eli Barnes and Cathy Wylie share the school record with 16 apiece. The rightfielder/designated player hit .296 this season with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and 14 RBI.
PITCHING SUPPORT: Sophomore Wendy Stephens (Mira Loma, CA) and freshman Jenni Rasmussen (Saginaw) complete Central's pitching staff. Stephens was 8-4 with a 1.43 ERA and one save. She struck out 41. Rasmussen was 1-1 with a 2.85 ERA and two saves. She fanned 10. As a staff, CMU had a 1.51 ERA with 13 shutouts. Opposing htters batted .210 against the Chippewas this season. Stephens, who also sees time at first base and designated player, is hitting .263 on the year with a double and eight RBI.
LEADOFF THREAT: Sophomore Becky Manson, the reigning MAC "Freshman of the Year," is hitting .285 this season with eight doubles, two triples and nine RBI. She has 15 stolen bases on the season which ranks second in the MAC. The Chippewa leadoff hitter has scored a team-high 24 runs.
TOUGH "D": Hope Robertshaw (LaCrescenta, CA/Jr.), a two-time All-MAC pick, has been making great defensive plays at third base all season long. The junior is hitting .269 this season with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 13 RBI. She has started at third base for CMU in all 38 games this season.
AROUND THE HORN: CMU was shutout by Kent last weekend marking the first time this season Central was shutout by a non-nationally ranked team. The Chippewas were also blanked by Arizona State and Michigan ... Senior Sharon Blower (Ortonville) went 3-for-3 against Kent last week ... Tina Kinney was 4-for-4 in the opening game against Detroit which tied a school record for hits in a game. It was the eighth time a Chippewa has notched four hits in a game and the second time Kinney accomplished the feat. She also had four versus Bowling Green in 1998 ... CMU's current .969 fielding average would rank as the top mark in CMU history ... Jen Skuta leads CMU in multiple hit games with 14 ... Freshman Kristen White (Clarendon Hills, IL) has four hits and three RBI in 10 at-bats this season ... The Chippewas are 6-6 in one-run games this season and 2-2 when it goes to extra innings.
NCAA BID AT STAKE: The winner of the MAC tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals which are set for May 17-19. Each regional winner qualifies for the Women's College World Series held May 24-28 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
