Central Michigan University
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Western Michigan
Chippewas Get Behind Early in 6-3 Loss to WMU
4/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2006
MOUNT PLEASANT - When pitchers are behind in the count, they will often find themselves behind on the scoreboard as well.That was the case on Sunday afternoon as Western Michigan posted a 6-3 victory over rival Central Michigan University at the CMU Softball Complex. The Broncos completed a two-game sweep after starting the series with an 8-3 win yesterday.
"In order to be effective, our pitchers have to get ahead in the count and we've got to make the opponent earn its way on base," coach Margo Jonker said. "WMU didn't give anything away today. We've got to get to a point where we are not so kind."
Western Michigan (15-8, 3-1 Mid-American) jumped out to an early lead on a three-run homer by cleanup hitter Amanda Heckaman. That came after an error and a late throw trying to get the lead runner on a sacrifice attempt put two runners on.
CMU (10-17, 2-2 Mid-American) would find itself putting many runners on base throughout the day, five via bases on balls and another three on fielding errors.
Sophomore Suzie Giroux started CMU's comeback effort by leading the fourth inning off with a solo homer, the first of her career. The Chippewas notched another mark in the inning when Stephanie Crews beat out a soft grounder to short and Christan Dhondt scored all the way from second, sliding just under the tag of catcher Becky Bartosz.
WMU would respond in the top of the fifth by pushing its lead back up to two runs with a leadoff double by Kristi Strange and a one-out RBI double by Kyla Sullivan, the pitcher who entered the batting lineup for just that at-bat.
Suzie Giroux hit the first homer of her career against WMU.  | |
Starter Jill DeRoche issued back-to-back walks to start the sixth and she was pulled. Freshman Ali Pettit came on and got a pair of outs but then Strange hit a two-run double down the line in right.
CMU went down 1-2-3 in the sixth and tallied a single run in the seventh on an RBI double by Amy Hudson.
Sullivan (4-1) picked up the win after going four complete innings and allowing five hits and two runs (one earned). Krysten Shumaker, who shut down the Chippewas on Saturday, came on in the fifth to earn a save. She struck out four in the final three frames.
DeRoche took the loss for CMU after throwing the first five innings. She struck out eight but walked five. All six runs were credited to her (five earned). Pettit finished the final two innings while allowing a pair of hits and no runs.
CMU tallied seven hits to WMU six, but the Chippewas had three errors to the Broncos one.
Dhondt finished 2-for-3 and Lindsey Calme was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.
The Chippewas will journey out of conference play on Tuesday, April 4, for a home doubleheader against Detroit. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. CMU jumps back into MAC play on the weekend with a doubleheader at Buffalo on Friday and single games at Kent State on Saturday and Sunday.
