Central Michigan University Athletics
Late Inning Heroics Help Chippewas Split With Falcons
5/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MOUNT PLEASANT One pitch can decide a game in softball and that was the case for Central Michigan and Bowling Green on Friday.
With the Chippewas (10-31, 2-17 Mid-American) one strike away from getting swept following a 3-0 setback to the Falcons earlier in the day, Brittini Merchant delivered a walkoff two-run single to give the Chippewas a 4-3 win and a split of the doubleheader at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Game One
A pair of BGSU homers provided all the scoring in a 3-0 Falcons victory in the first game on Friday.
Ali Pettit and Hayley Wiemer were locked in an impressive pitching duel early on, both hurlers allowed only one hit through their first four innings in the circle.
Bowling Green got on the board in the top of the fifth when Haleigh Bielstein lined a two-run home run that just stayed fair down the rightfield line to go up 2-0.
The Chippewas put together a two-out threat in the bottom of the frame when Rachael Hensel smacked a double through the right centerfield gap. Tracy Kaatz served a single into left and stole second base to put runners at second and third with two down, but Wiemer forced a groundout to end the frame.
The Falcons added an insurance run in the seventh with a Missy Bowman solo homer to cap the scoring and make it 3-0.
Pettit limited BGSU to five hits in her seven innings of work and struck out six batters while not walking anybody.
Game Two
It looked like the same story all over again in the second game of the day as Bowling Green once again jumped ahead 3-0.
The Falcons got on the board in the second inning when Susan Sonntag hit a line drive solo home run down the rightfield line to make it 1-0. Sonntag put Bowling Green up by three runs the very next inning when she laced a two-run single through the right side of the infield with the bases loaded, part of a four hit rally in that inning.
The Chippewas got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Katie Greenman cracked an RBI double off the rightfield wall to make it a 3-1 contest. It looked like CMU would climb even closer when Brittini Merchant ripped a single up the middle with two outs and pair of runners aboard, but Falcons’ centerfielder Lindsay Arney gunned down the lead runner at home plate to end the inning.
Ali Pettit relieved Kim Campbell to begin the fourth inning hoping to keep Central within striking distance as it tried to rally back from the early deficit. The senior did just that, turning in four outstanding innings of relief in which she scattered three hits, walked one and struck out five while holding the Falcons off the board the rest of the way.
CMU put a runner aboard in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to come any closer as the squad stranded seven base runners in the first six innings.
With the Chippewas three outs from getting swept, senior leadoff batter Tracy Kaatz did what has made her an impact player for three years with the Maroon and Gold. She legged out an infield hit and advanced to second on a groundout. Greenman singled to put the tying run aboard and then Amanda Patrick scorched an RBI single down the rightfield line to make it a 3-2 affair and advance the tying run to third base. Wiemer retired the next batter on a groundball that moved Patrick up a base, but held Greenman at third and brought Central down to its final out. Merchant represented the Chippewas’ final hope and quickly fell behind 1-2 in the count, but lined the next Wiemer offering into right center to bring home Greenman and Patrick and end the game. It was the exclamation point on the sophomore's 3-for-4 day at the plate.
The single was Merchant’s second walkoff hit in MAC play.
The Chippewas return to the field on Saturday when they host Toledo and honor the historic 1982 CMU softball team that finished fourth in the AIAW National Championships that year. The team will also retire the number of Linda (Pagett) Young prior to the game.
First pitch of the contest is at 2 p.m. and the game can be heard on WMHW-FM 91.5.
