Central Michigan University Athletics
First-Place Softball Team Faces Tough Week Ahead
4/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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April 15, 2002
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan could be facing one of its biggest weeks of the season as it looks to keep a hold of first place in the Mid-American Conference standings.
The Chippewas have three doubleheaders on tap, all against teams from the East Division.
Central Michigan travels to Kent State on Wednesday, April 17, for a twinbill against the preseason East Division favorite. KSU enters Monday's doubleheader with Ohio at 13-16 overall and 4-5 in the MAC. Wednesday's double dip is set for 2 p.m., at the Kent State Softball Field.
The Chippewas return home on the weekend to host Marshall and Ohio. Central welcomes Marshall on Saturday, April 20, for a doubleheader at 1 p.m., while Ohio comes to town on Sunday, April 21, for a twinbill that also begins at 1 p.m.
Marshall enters the week 14-22 overall and 7-7 in the MAC and Ohio is 18-15 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
"It's important that we win all of our conference games in order to achieve our goals," coach Margo Jonker said. "This week's games will be tough. We lost to all three of them last year."
This week's three opponents represent three of CMU's four losses from last year's 20-4 MAC championship campaign. The other loss came against Northern Illinois.
Central Michigan is on a roll, though, winning its last 11 conference games. CMU went 4-2 last week with both losses coming against No. 12-ranked Michigan.
The Chippewas lost 8-0 and 7-3 to the Wolverines in Mount Pleasant on Wednesday.
Michigan jumped out to early leads in both games and the Wolverines belted grand slams in each contest en route to the sweep.
Marissa Young threw a one-hitter against CMU in the opener and a Melinda Moulden grand slam in the fifth inning broke open a tied game two.
The Chippewas rebounded with a 7-5 victory over Western Michigan on Thursday. CMU erased a three-run deficit and Amber Puchalski (Corona, Calif./So.) picked up the win in relief.
Michelle Brander (Jenison/Jr.) was 3-for-3 with two RBI.
Central then took a three-game series from visiting Toledo on the weekend thanks to a dominating performance by Puchalski.
She picked up the seventh no-hitter of her career in a 12-0 CMU rout in the opener. Puchalski was a walk away from a perfect game. She struck out nine of the 16 batters in the five- inning game.
The Chippewa offense helped out by tying a season high with 15 hits.
The Chippewas took the nightcap, 7-2. Jenni Rasmussen (Saginaw/Jr.) allowed five hits and just one earned run while striking out eight.
The Rockets closed within one but a four-run sixth inning gave CMU the win. Brander had a three-run double in the inning.
Puchalski then set a career high with 18 strikeouts in CMU's 2-1, nine innings win on Sunday. She allowed just three hits, but one of them was a solo home run in the fourth that tied the game.
Jen Skuta (Pinconning/Sr.) drove in the winning run with a two-out infield single in the ninth.
THE SERIES: Central Michigan leads the season series with all three schools. The Chippewas hold a 33-24 advantage all-time over Kent State. CMU won two of three from the Golden Flashes last season and needed extra innings to defeat KSU in the MAC tournament, 4-3 in eight.
Central leads Marshall, 3-1. The two teams split a doubleheader in Huntington, W.V., early in the conference campaign last season.
The Chippewas are 36-11 against Ohio. CMU also split with the Bobcats last season in Athens. Central lost 8-7 in 10 innings as Amber Puchalski came on in relief to suffer her only conference loss of the season.
SCOUTING KENT STATE: KSU was picked to win the MAC East Division title this season but the Flashes are 13-16 overall and 4-5 in the MAC heading into this week. Megan McGaughey is hitting .317 (26-for-82) with six doubles and 15 RBI. Kate Leary is 7-4 with a 2.45 ERA.
SCOUTING MARSHALL: Marshall is 14-22 with a 7-7 MAC mark. Nichole Corrigan is hitting .339 with eight doubles. Sierra Davenport is batting .336 with five RBI. Davenport is 4-5 with a 2.91 ERA.
SCOUTING OHIO: Ohio is led by Tiffany Bolton's .370 batting average and 14 RBI. The Bobcats have 15 home runs this season, including five by Kim Stinson. Stinson is hitting .361 on the year. Val Wood is 5-4 with a 1.90 ERA.
CLOSING IN ON 800: Central Michigan head coach Margo Jonker needs just 10 more wins for 800 in her career. She entered the season with 767, 12th best in NCAA Division I history.
PUCHALS"K"I: Amber Puchalski set a career high with 18 strikeouts in the series finale against Toledo. She was two K's shy of the school record set by All-American Linda Pagett in 1982 when she fanned 20 Ohio State batters. The OSU game was in the AIAW National Championships and Pagett tossed all 15 innings of CMU's 1-0 win. She allowed just two hits in the 15 innings.
STRIKEOUT LEADER: Amber Puchalski entered last week ranked No. 2 nationally with 11.5 strikeouts per seven innings. Texas freshman Cat Osterman leads the country with 12.9 per game. Puchalski has 187 K's this season, third best in CMU annals, and 442 in her career, also third best. She is chasing her own record of 255 strikeouts in a season set last year. In her career against Toledo, Puchalski has struck out 51 of the 97 batters she's faced while allowing just four hits in 28 innings.
NO-HITTER, NO PROBLEM: Amber Puchalski threw her seventh no-hitter in CMU's 12-0 five-inning victory on Saturday. It was her second no-hitter against Toledo and her second five-inning no-hitter. Puchalski was a walk away from her second perfect game. Puchalski threw six no-hitters as a freshman, breaking the old CMU career record of five.
EN FUEGO: Freshman Christin Sobeck (Alpena) was hot at the plate in CMU's series against Toledo. She was 6-for-7 against the Rockets with two doubles and four RBI. The rightfielder had a hit in five straight at-bats in the series. For the week, Sobeck hit .667 (8-for-12) with six RBI and four runs scored. She tallied a hit in all five games she played in last week.
BIG MACK: Karly McCormack (Antioch, Calif./So.) shined in CMU's four MAC games last week. She hit .667 (8-for-12) in conference play with a double, two triples and one RBI. They were the first triples of her career, however she injured her foot sliding into third on the last one and was not able to return to the game. McCormack is hitting a conference-best .567 in MAC play.
SKUTA SENDS 'EM HOME: Jen Skuta (Pinconning/Sr.) entered last week tied for 10th in the nation with 1.0 RBI per game. She held close to that average this week, driving in five runs in CMU's six games. Skuta leads the MAC with 35 RBI and that mark ties for fourth on CMU's season list. One of her RBI came on a solo home run against the Rockets. It was her seventh round-tripper this season, one shy of the CMU record. Skuta is hitting .358 on the year with a .478 mark with runners in scoring position. Skuta leads the MAC in RBI and is tied for the top in home runs.
ON A ROLL: Amber Puchalski has now won six straight decisions to improve to 11-5 on the season with a 1.97 ERA. Puchalski's next conference win will be her 25th against MAC foes. She is 24-2 all-time against conference schools, including the MAC tournament.
BACK ON TRACK: After two tough outings early in the week, Jenni Rasmussen went the distance to pick up a win against Toledo in game two. She allowed five hits and just one earned run in CMU's 7-2 win. Rasmussen struck out eight while walking just two. Rasmussen is 8-4 this season with a 2.15 ERA.
GOING FOR TWO: Becky Manson (Rockford/Sr.) tallied another double last week to give her 13 on the season. She entered last week fifth in the nation with 0.43 doubles per game. Manson is now three shy of the CMU season record of 16 and her 37 career two-baggers ranks No. 3 in CMU history. Manson is hitting .348 as the Chippewa leadoff hitter.
HOT HITTING CHIPPEWA: Junior Michelle Brander is hitting .371 to lead the team at the plate. She has eight doubles, two triples, a home run and 27 RBI to her credit. Brander hit .400 last week (8-for-20) with three doubles and six RBI. She had a three-run double against Toledo in game two. Brander's 43 hits this season are the most in the MAC and her 27 RBI rank second.
CAREER FIRST: Freshman Natalie Krillich (Oak Lawn, Ill.) posted the first two hits of her CMU career in a 2-for-3 outing against Toledo.
PUTTING IN OVERTIME: CMU is now 4-1 this season in extra inning games. CMU's lone loss was a 3-1 decision against Nicholls State in the Speedline Tournament in Florida. Last year, the Chippewas were 1-3 in extra inning games, with an 0-2 mark in MAC regular season contests.
HAMILTON STEPPING UP: Outfielder Sarah Hamilton (Brighton/Jr.) has made great improvements at the plate this season. She hit .130 last year and this season has raised her average to .268. Hamilton has eight doubles, two triples and 15 RBI. Her RBI total is third-best on the squad. She's also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.
RAINED OUT: Rain cancelled the Western Michigan at Kent State MAC doubleheader last weekend and another two sets of games were moved to Monday. Moved games include Miami hosting Bowling Green and Kent State hosting Ohio.
UP NEXT: The Chippewas host Big Ten foe Michigan State for a single game next Wednesday, April 23, at 4 p.m. CMU then heads to Eastern Michigan for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27. The regular season comes to a close the following week when the Chippewas host Northern Illinois for a three-game series in Mount Pleasant.
