Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Opens Home Season on Wednesday
3/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Six games are on tap for the Central Michigan University Softball Complex this week as the Chippewas open the home portion of the 2008 schedule. CMU is hosting three different teams over a five-day span.
The Chippewas (7-9, 0-0 Mid-American) are hoping the weather clears for Wednesday’s nonconference twinbill against Valparaiso (14-7, 0-0 Horizon). First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
CMU then kicks off Mid-American Conference play against rival Western Michigan (6-7, 0-0 Mid-American) on Friday, March 28. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. Conference action continues on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) with single games each day against Northern Illinois (5-11, 0-0 Mid-American).
“We are starting to see the grass and are excited about the possibility of playing on our home field,” coach Margo Jonker said. “We’ve worked on the field, chipping ice away and shoveling snow. Hopefully we’ll be rewarded with some sunshine so we can get out and play.
“Playing at home for the first time is exciting. We’d like to get the games in against Valpo before our first MAC games since it’s been a while since we’ve played in Florida.”
The Chippewas have been idle since defeating Villanova, 5-1, on March 9 in the last game of their spring trip to Florida. CMU was 4-8 on the trip after opening the year 3-1 at a weekend tournament hosted by UNC-Greensboro.
The Chippewas jump back into competition mode against Valparaiso out of the Horizon League. The Crusaders are playing a MAC schedule this week, splitting with Ball State on Monday and sweeping Northern Illinois on Tuesday before heading to Mount Pleasant on Wednesday.
CMU and Valpo have never met on the softball diamond.
That’s not the case for CMU and rival Western Michigan who will meet for the 91st and 92nd times on Friday. The Chippewas and Broncos were picked to finish in
the top half of the MAC West Division this season as CMU was the favorite while WMU was tabbed third.
“We usually have no problem getting up for our first MAC game of the year but the fact that it is WMU makes it that much easier,” Jonker said. “The Broncos are our rival and they have a good program with a lot of recent success. We’re looking to start the conference schedule strong and what a better way than against our biggest rival.”
Northern Illinois has three doubleheaders on the docket this week before facing the Chippewas. The Huskies were swept at Valparaiso on Tuesday before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. NIU opens MAC action at Eastern Michigan on Friday. NIU is led by first-year head coach Lindsay Chouinard, a former assistant coach and All-American at DePaul.
Practice Makes Perfect: With 17 days off since their last game the Chippewas have had plenty of time to practice specific skills. “We’ve been working on attacking the ball more on offense,” Jonker said. “That ability determines how we perform offensively. It involves looking for the first good pitch in the zone and putting a good swing on the ball. We need to make the pitcher pay for mistakes early in the count. We’ve also been doing accountability drills with runners in scoring position to work on getting the runners in. Our defense has been pretty consistent all season and we’ve been working on maintaining that. Our pitchers have been working on nibbling the corners and having effective pitches throughout the count.”
UIC Twinbill Cancelled: CMU had its schedule at the University of South Florida Under Armour Invitational altered because of the weather and Mother Nature also affected the Chippewas once they returned north. Last Wednesday’s doubleheader at Illinois-Chicago was cancelled because of wintery conditions.
Delamater Honored: Junior Christa Delamater was named the MAC West Division pitcher of the week back on March 12. In CMU’s last game against Villanova she notched a complete-game victory. The righty gave up just three hits while fanning seven. The only run she surrendered was unearned. On the year, Delamater is 2-0 with a team-best 1.80 ERA in six appearances.
Kaatz Perfect on the Paths: Junior Tracy Kaatz is a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts this season. Her 0.88 stolen bases per game leads the MAC this season. NCAA rankings haven’t started yet but she was 26th nationally last season with 0.55 per game. The outfielder swiped 26 bags last year in 29 attempts and her single-season total tied for fourth in school history. Kaatz had four stolen bases earlier this year against UNC-Greensboro, tying a CMU single-game record that she also tied last season. Pam Stanely holds the single season record with 46 and she also had four in a game against Ball State in 1991. Kaatz enters this week with 40 career stolen bases in two seasons and she needs just five more to tie for seventh on the CMU career chart.
Novak Is Where It’s At: Sophomore Christina Novak is swinging a hot bat for the Chippewas so far this season. She leads the team with both a .383 average and nine RBI. The outfielder has three doubles, one triple and one homer. During a five-game stretch in Florida she hit .533 going 8-for-15. Novak is also a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts as well.
Giving Up Long Balls: Chippewa pitchers have given up a total of 13 home runs this season while CMU batters have clubbed just four. Six of the 13 roundtrippers by the opponent have been with two outs and 34 percent of CMU’s opponents’ runs have scored on homers. The Chippewas belted a school record 25 homers last season averaging 0.53 per game but this year CMU is hitting 0.25 per contest.
Frosh Making an Impact: Freshman Brittini Merchant has been productive at the plate in her rookie season. The shortstop has started all 16 games and has driven in seven runs while hitting .233. Her RBI total is second best on the team. Of her 10 hits, a team-high four are doubles and she also leads the squad in sacrifices with four (three bunts). Merchant was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in CMU’s last game, a 5-1 win over Villanova.
Pettit Climbing the Charts: Junior Ali Pettit went 17-7 last season and the 17 wins tied for the MAC high while ranking 10th on CMU’s single season chart. This year, she has dropped two straight decisions to fall to 3-4 overall with a 4.49 ERA. The righty enters the week with 28 career victories and she needs 10 more to move into 10th on CMU’s career chart. Pettit notched a save already this season giving her five for her career which ties for fifth on CMU’s career chart.
Seddon Getting the Starts: Sophomore Kari Seddon started 14 games in the circle last year and she’s already halfway to that total this season. Seddon has started a team-high seven games while notching a 2-5 record with a 2.56 ERA. She has struck out 32 batters in 43.2 innings but she has also surrendered 25 walks. Seddon has gone the distance in five of her outings this season.
A Band of Thieves: The Chippewas have successfully stolen 90 percent of the bases they’ve attempted to swipe this season. CMU is 36-for-40 in stolen base attempts. By comparison, the Chippewa opponents have just 12 steals in 20 attempts; that’s a third fewer stolen bases in half the attempts.
Hudson a Hit Machine: Senior Amy Hudson is hitting .283 this season. She now has 162 career hits and needs 20 more to move into 10th on CMU’s career chart.
Coming Soon ... Jonker Stadium: The CMU Softball Complex will be renamed Margo Jonker Stadium on Saturday, April 19. Jonker is being honored for her head coaching success and service to CMU. A fund raising campaign has generated nearly $250,000 for capital improvements that will be made to the complex beginning this summer. The ceremony is being held prior to the game at 2 p.m., and a reception is being held on site following the game.
On the Air: All of Central Michigan’s home softball games will be broadcast on CMU’s student radio station, WMHW-FM 91.5. A free stream is also available at the station's official Web site.
On Deck: The Chippewas are at home again next week to host in-state foes Detroit and Eastern Michigan. CMU welcomes Detroit on Tuesday, April 1, for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Eastern Michigan then visits Mount Pleasant on the weekend for a pair of single games on Saturday, April 5 (2 p.m.) and Sunday, April 6 (1 p.m.).
