Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Three-Run Blast Gives CMU Dramatic Win
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Katelyn Rentschler ripped a two-out three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday to lift the Central Michigan softball team to a 5-2 walk-off victory over Eastern Michigan in a Mid-American Conference softball game at Margo Jonker Stadium.
It was the fifth home run in the last five games for Rentschler, a junior who last week set the CMU school record with three homers in a victory at Ohio.
It was the first walk-off homer that Rentschler has hit, and it came on a 2-2 pitch.
"I was trying to keep my composure around the bases, but once you round third and you see all your teammates waiting for you at the plate, you can't help but smile," she said.
The win was CMU's sixth in its last seven starts and it lifted the Chippewas to 14-16, 4-3 MAC. Eastern is 9-23, 1-5. The teams close their two-game series Sunday at 1 p.m. at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Rentschler's blast was the second dramatic CMU round-tripper in as many innings. Chelsea DeLamielleure tied the game 2-2 with a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth.
"It was a great game for us, it was a great game in a lot of ways," CMU coach Margo Jonker said. "We had a great crowd. We had great weather and then we had a victory. So put it all together, it was a great day from Chippewa softball."
A two-out RBI single by Taylor Wagner gave Eastern a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It stayed that way until the Eagles added a run in he sixth on an Abby Davidson two-out run-scoring single.
"Well I think they didn't give in," Jonker said of her players. "That's key that they stayed in it. In the dugout, energy was there. That's something we really work on, keeping the energy throughout the game."
Trista Cox tripled to lead off the bottom of the sixth. One out later, DeLamielleure homered to tie it.
Kristen Kuhlman drew a two-out walk in the seventh for CMU and Cox followed with a single before Rentschler delivered the dramatic blow to left field.
"She looked really calm and sometimes she can get suckered by a certain pitch, but in that situation she didn't," Jonker said of Rentschler, who was hitless in three trips to the plate before her game-winning shot. "She was in the right frame of mind and was confident. She kept fouling some off and got a pitch she could handle.
"It was a big at-bat, but there were other big at-bats before that."
Rachael Knapp (10-6) allowed eight hits, walked two and struck out eight in earning the win, her ninth in her last 11 decisions.
"I thought she showed good poise and (Eastern) didn't have a lot of hard hits of her," Jonker said. "They had a number of hits, but a lot of them were tweener-like things. Overall, I thought she pitched a good game."
Cox finished with three hits while Sara Hansen had two for the Chippewas.
Lindsay Rich allowed eight hits, walked two and struck out three in taking the loss.
