Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Hosts Busy Weekend of MAC Games
4/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Western Michigan (15-10, 2-0 MAC) at Central Michigan (14-14, 1-2 MAC)
Friday, April 4, 1 p.m., Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium) (DH)
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Northern Illinois (13-19, 1-3 MAC) at Central Michigan
Saturday, April 5, 2 p.m., Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
Sunday, April 6, 1 p.m., Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
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WATCH: Softball Insider
Preview
The Central Michigan softball team returns to Mid-American Conference action this weekend, at home against Western Michigan in a doubleheader on Friday, and a pair of games with Northern Illinois on Saturday and Sunday. The Chippewas captured their first MAC win last Saturday in a 7-0 shutout over Buffalo.
The Broncos ride a four-game winning streak to Margo Jonker Stadium after defeating Miami, 3-2 and 5-1, in their MAC opener, and claiming two games from Oakland on Tuesday. Meredith Whitney leads the team offensively with a .365 batting average and a team-high 14 RBI. She also is the top hurler for the Broncos with a 9-6 record and team-high 86 strikeouts in 91 innings of work.
The Huskies will travel to Michigan this weekend to face Eastern Michigan in a doubleheader on Friday followed by two games with the Chippewas. In NIU's opening weekend of conference action they went 1-3 capturing a win against Ball State but dropping one to the Cardinals and two to Miami. Stephanie Tofft leads the Huskies' offense with a .434 batting average and is currently fourth during MAC play at .563. NIU has the top batting averaging in the MAC at .370.
| Top Hitters | | | | | | | | | | |
| CMU | Avg. | Other | | Western Michigan | Avg. | Other | | Northern Illinois | Avg. | Other |
| Macy Merchant | .389 | 35 Hits | | Meredith Whitney | .365 | 14 RBI | | Stephanie Tofft | .434 | 26 RBI |
| Molly Coldren | .368 | 6 HR | | Gracie Barstad | .360 | .420 SLG % | | Nicole Gremillion | .394 | 8 2B |
| Summer Knoop | .316 | 25 Hits | | Courtney Rousseau | .305 | 4 2B | | Shelby Miller | .358 | 8 HR |
| CarolAnn Sexauer | .278 | .528 SLG % | | Tara Buchanan | .286 | 13 RBI | | Jennifer Barnett | .333 | 23 Hits |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Team Comparison | | | |
| | |
| |
| | | | |
| 2.57 | ERA | 2.88 | 4.27 |
| .252 | Avg. Against | .223 | .269 |
| .275 | Batting Avg. | .267 | .295 |
| .390 | Slugging Pct. | .345 | .424 |
| 125 | Runs Scored | 93 | 149 |
| 39 | Stolen Bases | 5 | 35 |
Storylines
Opponent History -- The Chippewas hold a 62-37 all-time record over the Broncos, however WMU went 2-1 against CMU last year and knocked the Maroon and Gold out of the MAC Tournament. CMU also has the edge in the all-time series with NIU at 31-20-1. The Chippewas finished last year 1-2 against the Huskies, dropping two regular season games but winning the first game of the MAC Tournament, 4-1.
MAC Standings -- After going 1-2 in the opening weekend of MAC play the Maroon and Gold are currently fifth in the West. Western Michigan leads the division with a perfect 2-0 record followed by Eastern Michigan at 3-1.
Hitting for Power -- In four of the last seven games, the Chippewas have tallied more than 10 hits. In five out of those seven games they have had at least one home run and in four games have scored seven or more runs.
Freshman No More -- CarolAnn Sexauer has appeared in all 28 games for CMU at shortstop. In the three conference games she batted .300 with three RBI, two doubles, a home run and a blistering .800 slugging percentage.
Consistent Merchant -- In only five games this season has Macy Merchant been held without a hit. She was one of five Chippewas who gathered a hit against Michigan State, and is currently leading the team with a .389 hitting percentage.
Senior Leader -- Molly Coldren finished the three MAC games with a .333 batting average, while collecting her sixth home run of the season against KSU. She is leading the team with 25 RBI, with 14 of them coming with two-outs.
Fun Facts --
- 47 percent of the runs scored by the Chippewas come in the first three innings.
- CMU is:
- 2-0 against a left-handed starter
- 1-10 when scoring under two runs
- 9-0 when scoring six or more runs
- 9-2 when holding opponents to under two runs
- 9-3 when scoring in the first inning
- 12-3 when scoring first
MAC Rankings -- Kara Dornbos is currently fourth in conference ERA at 1.31 while CarolAnn Sexauer holds the third stop in doubles with two. Cory DeLamielleure is tied for second with two MAC home runs, second in walks with four and third in slugging percentage at 1.143.
NCAA Rankings -- The Chippewas are 57th currently in the country averaging .37 double plays per game; they have turned 10 this season. They are 59th in stolen bases per game, averaging 1.37, 66th in earned run average at 2.47, 83rd in scoring averaging 4.59 runs per game and 89th in batting average at .278.
Individually Molly Coldren is 59th in runs batted in, averaging .93 per game and 69th with a .712 slugging percentage.
Writing the Record Books -- Coldren has now moved into seventh in CMU history in runs scored as she has 112 in her career and is third on the RBI chart with 115. Her six home runs on the season place her eighth on the single-season chart (holds the top two spots).
