Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Travels To Stanford For NCAA Regional Play
5/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 14, 2001
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- It's likely that LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali" will be blasted from the headphones of the Central Michigan University softball team (36-18, 20-4 Mid-American) this week.
Five Chippewa players will be returning to their home state this week when the Mid-American Conference champions head to Stanford, Calif., for the NCAA Region Six Championships, May 17-20.
Central Michigan, the No. 4 seed in the region, has drawn No. 18-ranked Pacific (47-11, 16-5 Big West), the No. 3 seed, as its first round opponent. The Chippewas and Tigers will meet on Thursday, May 17, at 11:30 a.m. PDT.
"We were placed in a good region," head coach Margo Jonker said. "We are competing against some quality teams and I know we will be competitive. We just need to put it together and leave everything on the field.
"We wish we were closer to home so more of our fans could enjoy the experience with us but know we'll have some fans with our California connections."
The No. 4-ranked Stanford Cardinal (48-13-1, 11-10 Pac-10) are the No. 1 seed and No. 11-ranked Nebraska (49-13, 16-2 Big 12) the No. 2. Pacific and CMU are the third and fourth seeds followed by No. 5 Brigham Young (35-24, 11-6 Mountain West) and No. 6 Hofstra (36-24, 20-6 America East). It is a double-elimination tournament with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Chippewas are making their 11th NCAA tournament appearance, including their third straight.
Coincidentally, CMU defeated Stanford, 2-1 in 13 innings, last year at regionals in Ann Arbor, Mich. Stanford was the No. 1 seed and CMU the No. 6 in last year's regional. The Cardinal were ranked No. 9 at the time. Central also defeated a ranked team in Notre Dame, 2-1, last year when the Chippewas went 2-2 with one of the losses coming against eventual regional winner DePaul.
Central advanced to the Women's College World Series in 1987 and finished fifth.
Central received the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning its third straight conference tournament. The Chippewas hosted the event and went an undefeated 3-0.
The win was the Chippewas' eighth MAC tournament title in the 10 times it has been held.
"It was an excellent ending to a great MAC season," Jonker said. "We fielded 1.000 in the tournament in pressure situations and strong fielding was key to our success all season long.
"Another positive was our outstanding hitting. We hit much better than I expected, so hopefully we are peaking at the right time.
"Now we get a chance to compete for another championship and that is what it is all about."
CMU opened the tournament in dramatic fashion with a come-from-behind extra-inning victory.
Central, the No. 1 seed, defeated the No. 4 seed Kent State, 4-3 in eight innings.
With two outs, two strikes and CMU trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh, senior Hope Robertshaw (LaCrescenta, Calif.) punched a single into rightfield that scored leadoff hitter Becky Manson (Rockford/Jr.) from second base.
The Chippewas then won it in the eighth with an RBI double by freshman Karly McCormack (Antioch, Calif.).
"That game was one of the best games that I have been a part of in my many years of coaching," Jonker said. "There was great intensity and drama at the end of the game with two outs and two strikes. It was either do it now or go to the losers bracket.
"We had the right people at the right spots with our best baserunner on second and our best hitter at the plate, so it was a perfect scenario for us to be successful. That win set us up for the rest of the tournament."
Central shutout Northern Illinois, 2-0, in game two. Three extra-base hits to start the fourth inning led to two CMU runs.
Robertshaw led off with a double and scored on a Michelle Brander (Jenison/So.) triple. Kim Burke (Mount Pleasant/Sr.) then knocked Brander in with a double of her own.
Freshman Amber Puchalski (Corona, Calif.) picked up the shutout, her 14th of the season, while throwing a three-hitter.
Central posted an 8-3 win over Ball State to claim the championship. CMU's seniors stepped up big in their final games at the CMU softball complex. Robertshaw, Burke and Amy Morrison (Fenton/Sr.) each drove in two runs in the win.
Central scored one run in the first and another three in the third to take a comfortable 4-0 lead. But, in the top of the fifth Ball State posted three runs to pull within one. A four-run sixth inning by CMU put the game out of reach.
Robertshaw was named the tournament MVP after hitting .667 (6-for-9) on the week with five RBI. It was the second straight season she was named MAC tournament MVP.
"I was happy to see Hope perform so well and then be honored with the MVP," Jonker said. "Coming through in the pressure situation of the Kent State game says a lot about her as a competitor."
Joining her on the all-tournament team were Puchalski, Brander, Burke and Jen Skuta (Pinconning/Jr.).
Puchalski went 3-0 in the circle with one shutout. She had an ERA of 1.91 while fanning 19 batters and walking only one.
Brander hit .455 (5-for-11) with an RBI. Burke hit .375 (3-for-8) with a hit in every game. She also had a double, a triple and three RBI. Skuta hit .375 (3-for-8) with two RBI.
AT THE HELM: Margo Jonker is in her 22nd season as head coach at CMU. She is 766-411-5 in her head coaching career at CMU and her 766 wins ranks among the winningest Division I coaches of all-time. Jonker was an assistant coach for the gold-medal winning USA Softball team this past summer in Sydney, Australia.
AGAINST THE 48-TEAM FIELD: Central Michigan went 1-7 against the NCAA tournament field this season. The win was a 10-0 decision over Illinois Chicago on March 9. CMU lost twice each to Penn State (4-0 and 3-2), Michigan (8-1 and 3-0) and Florida State (2-0 and 3-1) and once to Oregon State (5-1).
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE REGION: CMU went 2-0 against teams in its region last season. Central defeated Stanford, 2-1 in 13 innings, during regionals last year and also defeated Pacific, 4-2, at the National Invitational Softball Tournament in Sunnyvale, Calif. Following are the all-time records against the regional field:
CMU all-time versus ....
Stanford 1-1
Nebraska 3-4
Pacific 1-1
Brigham Young 1-0
Hofstra 2-2
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
STANFORD: No. 4-ranked Stanford received an at-large bid after finishing 48-13-1 overall and 11-10 in the Pacific-10. The All-American duo of Jessica Mendoza and Sarah Beeson each rank among the national leaders in hitting with identical .409 batting averages. Pitcher Dana Sorensen is 22-3 with a 0.42 ERA that also ranks among the national leaders.
NEBRASKA: The No. 11-ranked Cornhuskers also received an at-large bid to the field of 48. The Cornhuskers enter the tournament 49-13 overall and 16-2 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma was the Big 12 champion. Kim Ogee is hitting .323 with 29 RBI and Jamie Fuente is batting .323 with 27 RBI and six home runs. Leigh Ann Walker is 21-6 with a 1.35 ERA.
PACIFIC: Another at-large team, the No. 18-ranked Pacific Tigers are 47-11 overall and 16-5 in the Big West. Cal-State Fullerton took the conference's automatic bid. Estee Okumura is hitting .344 with 38 RBI. Cindy Ball is 30-7 with a 1.19 ERA. Pacific has won 10 of its last 12 games.
BRIGHAM YOUNG: BYU won the Mountain West Conference tournament to secure an automatic bid. The Cougars are 32-23 overall and finished 11-6 in Mountain West play. Freshman Oli Keohohou is one of the top hitters in the nation with a .466 batting average and she also ranks among the home run leaders with 20. Maryon DeWitt-Wallentine is 16-14 with a 3.56 ERA and Meghann Pricer is 12-6 with a 2.43 ERA.
HOFSTRA: The Pride earned the America East Conference's automatic bid. Hofstra is 36-24 with a 20-6 mark in league play. Amanda Hallaway is hitting .348 with 34 RBI. Shannon Luther is 18-13 in the circle with a 1.81 ERA.
MAC TOURNAMENT DOMINANCE: Central Michigan has now won the MAC tournament eight of the 10 years it has been held, including three straight titles. Central also extended its MAC tournament winning streak to 11 games after going 4-0 in 1999, 4-0 in 2000 and 3-0 in 2001.
ROLLING AT THE RIGHT TIME: The Chippewas have won 17 of their last 18 games and enter the regionals on a nine-game winning streak. Central is 23-3 over its last 26 games.
DOING IT WITH `D': Central Michigan is fielding a school record .974 this season. CMU was the only MAC team that did not commit an error in the MAC tournament. Last year's team holds the school record at .969. CMU returned three starters around the infield from that team, including third, short and second. The Chippewas rank among the national leaders in fielding percentage this season.
ROBERTSHAW DOES IT AGAIN: Hope Robertshaw earned MAC tournament MVP honors for the second straight year after leading CMU to the title. Robertshaw posted a hit in each game of the tournament, including a clutch RBI single in the bottom of the seventh against Kent State to send the game to extra innings. She had a .667 batting average with five RBI in the tournament to lead all hitters. The third baseman had three RBI in the championship game.
Robertshaw was a first team All-MAC selection this season. She leads the team in hitting with a .346 batting average and RBI with 32 runs driven in.
PUCHALSKI NETS PAIR OF AWARDS: Freshman pitcher Amber Puchalski picked up a pair of the MAC's top awards. She was named the MAC "Pitcher of the Year" in addition to being tabbed the conference's "Freshman of the Year."
Puchalski is 25-7 this season with a 1.04 ERA. She set the school season records for wins (25) and strikeouts (246). The freshman ranks among the national leaders in ERA and strikeouts.
She went 3-0 in the MAC tournament with 19 strikeouts to only one walk.
ALL-MAC HONOREES: CMU had three players earn first team All-MAC honors. Pitcher Amber Puchalski and Hope Robertshaw at third were first team picks, along with shortstop Becky Manson who was an at-large selection. Second team honorees were Jen Skuta in the outfield, Michelle Brander at catcher and second baseman Kim Burke as an at-large pick.
Burke was a four-time All-MAC honoree and Robertshaw and Manson were three-time picks. Robertshaw and Manson each earned first team honors for the second time. Skuta was also a repeat All-MAC selection.
Puchalski and Brander were first time honorees.
DOUBLING UP: Hope Robertshaw tied the CMU career record for doubles by knocking her 42nd career two-bagger in the MAC tournament. She is tied with Eli Barnes (1996-99). Kim Burke also moved into third place on the career doubles list with her 35th double in the MAC tournament. Robertshaw and Jen Skuta each have 13 doubles this season. Those totals tie for fifth in the CMU season record books.
MORE RECORDS FALL: Amber Puchalski set a couple of new CMU season standards during MAC tournament. The freshman now holds CMU's season records for wins (25) and strikeouts (246). Her 14 shutouts are second behind Linda Pagett's 17 in 1982. In fact, Puchalski's season strikeout total is only 45 away from the fifth spot on the career charts. Puchalski has thrown six no-hitters this season, a CMU career record.
