Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Rally Past Nittany Lions, 5-2
3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A three-run fifth inning and Kara Dornbos’ strong pitching lifted the Central Michigan softball team to a 5-2 victory over Penn State at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla., on Tuesday.
The Chippewas’ (4-6) big inning snapped a 1-1 tie, giving them a lead they would never relinquish. Dornbos went the distance for her second victory of the season and limited the Nittany Lions to five hits, the freshman also struck out eight batters while walking only two. The win improves her to 2-2 this season.
“Kara did a great job in the circle today,” head coach Margo Jonker said. “She displayed great poise and all of her pitches were on. She located her pitches extremely well.”
Penn State opened the scoring in the first inning when Jackie Hill laced an RBI single down the right field line to give PSU a 1-0 lead.
The Chippewas tallied a run of their own in the bottom of the third. Summer Knoop got hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Knoop came around to score when PSU committed a two-out error, evening the game at one apiece.
Central went ahead for good in the fifth as Brittini Merchant singled and Knoop reached on an error to open the frame. After Amanda Klosterman’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base, Brogan Darwin gave CMU a 2-1 lead with a pinch hit sacrifice fly. A Christina Novak walk kept the inning alive for Katie Greenman, who drilled a two-run double down the left field line to put the Maroon and Gold up by three.
“Katie had a great shot down the line with two strikes on her,” Jonker said. “It was a great at-bat. We did the little things right in that inning. The bunts were a key to the game. We took advantage of an error on one and managed to lay down a lot of bunts to help score runs. That set the tone for everything else.”
CMU made it 5-1 in the sixth when Merchant’s RBI groundout scored Amanda Patrick, who doubled to start the inning, from third base.
The Nittany Lions drew to within 5-2 with a pinch-hit solo home run by Lauren Rossi, but Dornbos induced consecutive groundouts to end the game.
CMU returns to action on Friday, when it plays Quinnipiac and Boston College on day one of the Under Armour Invitational.
The Chippewas’ (4-6) big inning snapped a 1-1 tie, giving them a lead they would never relinquish. Dornbos went the distance for her second victory of the season and limited the Nittany Lions to five hits, the freshman also struck out eight batters while walking only two. The win improves her to 2-2 this season.
“Kara did a great job in the circle today,” head coach Margo Jonker said. “She displayed great poise and all of her pitches were on. She located her pitches extremely well.”
Penn State opened the scoring in the first inning when Jackie Hill laced an RBI single down the right field line to give PSU a 1-0 lead.
The Chippewas tallied a run of their own in the bottom of the third. Summer Knoop got hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Knoop came around to score when PSU committed a two-out error, evening the game at one apiece.
Central went ahead for good in the fifth as Brittini Merchant singled and Knoop reached on an error to open the frame. After Amanda Klosterman’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base, Brogan Darwin gave CMU a 2-1 lead with a pinch hit sacrifice fly. A Christina Novak walk kept the inning alive for Katie Greenman, who drilled a two-run double down the left field line to put the Maroon and Gold up by three.
“Katie had a great shot down the line with two strikes on her,” Jonker said. “It was a great at-bat. We did the little things right in that inning. The bunts were a key to the game. We took advantage of an error on one and managed to lay down a lot of bunts to help score runs. That set the tone for everything else.”
CMU made it 5-1 in the sixth when Merchant’s RBI groundout scored Amanda Patrick, who doubled to start the inning, from third base.
The Nittany Lions drew to within 5-2 with a pinch-hit solo home run by Lauren Rossi, but Dornbos induced consecutive groundouts to end the game.
CMU returns to action on Friday, when it plays Quinnipiac and Boston College on day one of the Under Armour Invitational.
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