Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Vie for First Place this Weekend
4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Live Stats
MOUNT PLEASANT — The Central Michigan softball team takes a seven-game winning streak into its most important games of the season to date this weekend.
The Chippewas (24-13, 10-4 Mid-American) close out their road schedule when they head to Buffalo for a doubleheader on Friday (1 p.m.) and take on Kent State for a first-place showdown on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
Central has defeated its last six MAC foes the past two weekends to move into a first-place tie with Ball State in the MAC West Division. The Maroon and Gold have outscored opponents, 30-10, during their winning streak. The CMU offense is second in the MAC with 5.13 runs per game a .285 batting average while the pitching staff sports a 2.60 ERA (third).
Buffalo is currently on the outside looking in at the MAC Tournament field, a tournament that begins in two weeks. The Bulls are 15-29 this season and 4-10 in league play. UB is the lowest scoring team in the conference at 2.93 runs per contest and its .231 average is the third worst in the league. The Buffalo staff has struggled to the tune of a 3.87 ERA (ninth). The Bulls have only won two of their last 10 MAC contests and have dropped four straight against league foes.
Individually, Buffalo’s offense is led by Kristin Waldron, who is batting a team-high .345. Terese Diaz leads the UB rotation with a 3.51 ERA.
Kent State is 24-17 and leads the MAC with an 11-3 conference record. The Golden Flashes are batting only .251 this season (eighth), but are averaging four runs a contest thanks to a league-high 42 home runs. KSU sports a 3.03 ERA, which is good for fourth in the MAC.
The Golden Flashes have two regulars batting over .300, led by Lauren Grimes’ .400 figure. Jessie Carmichael paces Kent State with nine home runs. The KSU staff is headlined by Kylie Reynolds, who sports a 1.97 ERA (second) and a MAC-leading 277 strikeouts in 202.1 innings.
Live stats will be available for every game this weekend. Results and recaps will be available at the conclusion of each day of competition.
News and Notes
CMU Against … — Central Michigan is 4-6 all-time against Buffalo and 38-30 against Kent State.
Last Meeting — CMU dropped MAC series against both Buffalo and Kent State at home last season. Buffalo swept a doubleheader at Central on April 17 by scores of 3-1 and 3-2. Kent State’s Kylie Reynolds struck out 21 Central batters and allowed only three hits to defeat CMU, 2-0 and 1-0.
Jonker Hits Milestone Win — Last Thursday’s 5-1 win over Michigan State gave head coach Margo Jonker another milestone victory. Jonker became the 11th coach in Division I history to win 1,000 games. In 31 seasons as CMU’s head coach, Jonker sports a career record of 1,002-593-5, a .628 winning percentage.
Win Watch — The Central Michigan softball team achieved a milestone victory during its Florida trip. CMU’s 10-3 win over James Madison on March 14 was the program’s 1,000th all-time victory. The Chippewas sport an all-time record of 1,017-598-5, a .629 winning percentage. Central has finished with a winning record in 29 of its 31 seasons.
Balanced Attack — The Central Michigan offense is getting it done with solid contributions from a number of players. Six regulars are batting .283 or higher with five averages of .306 or better. As a team, CMU sports a .359 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage. The Chippewas have 97 extra-base hits this season after finishing with only 62 in 2009.


Hitting the Conference — The Chippewa offense has turned it up a notch since the beginning of conference play. Central is second in the MAC with a .301 batting average and 74 runs in 14 conference games. CMU’s power has carried over to league play as well as it paces the MAC with 16 homers. Jill Schulz is the top hitter in league games with a .467 average.


Huge Improvements — The Chippewas’ high-octane attack has been keyed by huge improvements across the board from its returners. Sophomore Molly Coldren leads the diverse offense with 10 home runs and 32 RBI and is batting .342 after finishing last season with a .250 average, three homers and 16 RBI. Sophomore Ashley Gilson and junior Amanda Patrick are also experiencing big turnarounds. Among CMU batters who qualify for a MAC batting title, Gilson is fourth on the team with a .323 average and boasts a team-best .476 on-base percentage to go along with five homers (third on the team) and 10 RBI. She finished last season with a .200 average, .273 on-base percentage and two RBI. Patrick is fifth on the squad with a .306 average and is third with five homers after batting .198 with only one long ball in 2009.
Powering Through the Ranks — Sophomore shortstop Molly Coldren has already had a year for the CMU record books. The West Bloomfield, Mich., native has already cranked a school-record 10 home runs this season, two more than the previous record. Coldren has hit 13 home runs in her career, which is tied with three players for sixth on the Chippewas’ career list.
More Power to You — Senior Christina Novak has also been displaying her power this season as she is second on the team with a career-high six homers. Novak blasted her 17th career home run against Michigan State on April 22, giving her the school record in that category.
Digging the Long Ball — Home runs have played a historically large part in Central Michigan’s dynamic offense. The Chippewas have already belted a school-record 35 home runs in their 37 games. The Maroon and Gold’s power exploits in 2010 mark only the fourth time in 32 seasons that they have hit 20 or more home runs as a team. CMU hit 22 home runs in 1999, belted 21 in 2003 and blasted 25 in 2007.
Band of Thieves — The running game has been an integral part of the CMU offense this season. Through 37 games, the Chippewas have stolen 60 bases, twice as many as they’ve allowed (30). Even more impressive about the Maroon and Gold base running is that they have only been thrown out 10 times, an 86 percent success rate. Five Chippewas have already stolen five or more bases, led by Christina Novak’s 21. Macy Merchant is second on the team with 10 steals, Amber Olejniczak and Ashley Gilson have swiped seven bags while Molly Coldren has stolen five.
