Central Michigan University
Ball State
Chippwas Drop 2 in Home Opener
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan softball team played on its home diamond for the first time this season in a doubleheader with Ball State Saturday afternoon, but the Chippewas dropped both games, 14-7 and 9-5, to start 0-2 in Mid-American Conference play.
The weekend series with the Cardinals (14-16, 2-0 MAC) was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with one game each day, but both teams' coaches agreed to play both games on Saturday so Ball State could avoid traveling through potentially inclement weather on Sunday.
Offensive firepower was the theme of the day, with the teams combining for 42 hits and 35 runs in the doubleheader. On a day where the bats were hot on both sides, pitching and defensive breakdowns led to CMU coming up short, coach Margo Jonker said.
"If you would have told me that we would have that many hits in both games and that many runs, I would have thought we would have won at least one," Jonker said. "Obviously our defense and pitching broke down today.
"It felt good to get back on our home field, it's just disappointing to me when we don't do well. We have so much support from so many people and this was the first time they got to see us, and we didn't play well."
The Chippewas had a 6-3 lead and were error-free through six innings of the first game, but the Cardinals exploded for 11 runs as CMU committed two errors in the top of the seventh.
"The whole thing broke down for us in (the seventh inning)," Jonker said. "We had a couple balls go through third base, and all of a sudden, it got in our heads a little bit.
"We didn't play knowing that we could get it done. You could see it, that we weren't playing with confidence at that point and time. It was a total nightmare."
CMU scored six of its seven runs in the second inning, with most of the damage dealt by a three-run triple to right field by senior Kristen Kuhlman, who finished the game with two hits.
"Kristen had a really nice base-clearing triple and that was exciting for her and for us," Jonker said. "It's really good to see that. There were a couple good things I saw out of her today and I'm really excited with the way she's playing."
Junior Katelyn Rentschler was the only other CMU player outside of Kuhlman to finish with more than one hit in the first game. She went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including an RBI double to center in the seventh.
The Chippewas ended the game with eight hits, while Ball State tallied 10.
Freshman Taylor Weaver (1-4), who relieved starter Rachael Knapp in the seventh inning, took the loss. Knapp, a sophomore, struck out six and walked four.
The hot bats of CMU continued into the second game, but two errors in the third aided a four-run frame for Ball State, went on to take the game, 9-5.
Three Chippewa players had multi-hit games, with junior Chelsea DeLamielleure leading the team with three, including a solo home run, while freshman Lacy Tolfree and senior Sara Hansen tallying two hits apiece.
Sophomore Taylor Lewallen added a hit and drove in two runs.
CMU finished with 13 hits in the contest.
"I thought our defensive effort was better in the second game," Jonker said. "Sara Hansen made a diving catch in the outfield which was really great. And Rentschler made a diving catch at first base, which I do believe is the first of her career.
"Those are some positives if we're looking for positives on a dreary defensive day. But I was excited about how well we hit.
"There's a lot of hitting going on in this country right now if you look at scores around the country. There are a lot of runs being scored and we have done a lot in this game to help the hitters with different rules and the types of bats and balls we use. It's much more of a hitting game than it was a number of years ago."
Freshman Hanna Warren pitched six innings for the Chippewas in the nightcap, giving up five earned runs off 10 hits. She struck out one and walked three.
Kristen Kuhlman pitched the seventh, allowing one hit.
