Chippewas Fall Into Elimination Bracket
5/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
AKRON, Ohio – Sammi Gallardo and Hayley Barrow homered Thursday as Buffalo handed Central Michigan a 12-1 loss in a Mid-American Conference Tournament game at Firestone Stadium.
The loss dropped the Chippewas (33-21) into the elimination bracket. They will play Kent State at 11 a.m. Friday. If they win, they will play again Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Bulls (29-20), who were seeded second in the tournament, had six hits and took advantage of eight walks and two CMU errors.
Both homers came during a five-run second inning. Barrow’s was a solo shot, her sixth of the season, and Gallardo’s was a three-run blast. It was her 16th homer of the season, the second-best total in the MAC.
Rachael Knapp (14-5) started for CMU and took the loss. Morgan Yuncker, Chelsea Sundberg and Kristen Kuhlman each pitched in relief.
The game was called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
Tori Speckman (21-11) struck out four and walked three in tossing a two-hitter for the victory.
Lauren Bowman and Evelyn Lorimer had the hits for CMU.
The Bulls scored twice in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 7-0. The Chippewas’ run came in the bottom of the inning on a Lorimer single.
Kent State advanced with a 4-1 win over Miami (Ohio), eliminating the RedHawks from the tournament. The Chippewas and Kent State split their two regular-season meetings.
Top-seed Ball State was upset by Ohio, 3-0, on Thursday, and will play either Northern Illinois or Akron on Friday in an elimination game.
