Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Host Grizzlies In Mid-Week Action
4/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oakland (3-28, 1-14 Summit) at Central Michigan (16-16, 3-4 MAC)
Tuesday, April 10, 2 p.m. (DH), Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
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Preview
The Central Michigan softball team will take a break from Mid-American Conference action to host a doubleheader against Oakland on Tuesday, beginning at 2 p.m. The Chippewas had a busy weekend playing four games in three days. They got two wins in thrilling fashion on Friday, over Western Michigan, 2-1 and 7-6. The Maroon and Gold then dropped two games to conference opponent Northern Illinois, Saturday and Sunday, 5-1 and 4-2.
The Chippewas and Grizzlies have met 16 times, with CMU holding a 13-3 edge in the all-time series. These two teams met last in 2010, splitting a pair of games at Margo Jonker Stadium. Oakland enters Tuesday on a 13-game losing streak. Erika Polidori, who has a .374 batting average with six home runs on the season, is leading its offense. Brittan Doyle has appeared in 17 games, the most of Oakland's four pitchers, with a 1-12 record and a 6.11 ERA.
| Top Hitters | | | | | | | |
| CMU | Avg. | Other | | Oakland | Avg. | Other | |
| Macy Merchant | .398 | 41 Hits | | Erika Polidori | .374 | 6 HR | |
| Molly Coldren | .356 | 6 HR | | Leah DiCristofaro | .296 | .543 SLG % | |
| Summer Knoop | .303 | 27 Hits | | Erin Galloway | .278 | 6 2B | |
| CarolAnn Sexauer | .298 | .548 SLG % | | Shannon Cleveland | .260 | 4 2B | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Team Comparison | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| 2.69 | ERA | 6.41 |
| .254 | Avg. Against | .339 |
| .274 | Batting Avg. | .234 |
| .383 | Slugging Pct. | .320 |
| 137 | Runs Scored | 117 |
| 42 | Stolen Bases | 44 |
Storylines
MAC Standings -- After going 2-2 in MAC play over the weekend, the Chippewas now have a 3-4 conference record, placing them seventh overall. Bowling Green and Kent State lead the league with a 6-2 record. Western Michigan, which CMU beat twice over the weekend, and Ball State lead the West division with a 4-2 record.
Comeback Kids -- In both games against WMU the Chippewas had to rally from behind to claim the win. In game one, it was a game-winning single by Summer Knoop in the bottom seventh to hand CMU a 2-1 win. In the second game, the Maroon and Gold were down 5-0 after three innings and fought their way back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth, to steal a 7-6 win.
Teaming Up -- In the 4-2 loss against NIU on Sunday, CarolAnn Sexauer and Chelsea DeLamielleure teamed up for four of the team's five hits. Both hits (a double and triple) by Sexauer were to begin the inning, as DeLamielleure followed with two singles scoring Sexauer.
The two freshmen currently have the fourth (Sexauer at .298) and seventh (DeLamielleure at .257) best batting averages on the team. They have combined for seven out of the team's 17 total home runs and 29 percent of the team's RBI (34). On defense they are the middle infield, with Sexauer starting every game at shortstop and DeLamielleure starting 28 games at second.
Base Streak -- Macy Merchant has made it to first at least once in the last seven games. She had a streak of 12-straight games making it to first earlier this season.
Fun Facts --
- CMU is 10-0 this season when scoring more than six runs and 14-4 when it produces three or more runs.
- CMU is...
- 9-3 when scoring in the first inning
- 12-3 when scoring first
- 15-3 when out-hitting the opponent
- 2-13 when scoring under two runs
- The Chippewas are 10-1 when leading after six innings with the lone loss coming against Northern Illinois on Sunday.
NCAA Rankings (April 1) -- 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 113 in her career and is third on the RBI chart with 117. Her six home runs on the season place her eighth on the single-season chart (holds the top two spots).
