Chippewas Will Play 2 at Oakland
4/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. -- The Central Michigan softball team will look to continue its hot streak when it plays at Oakland on Tuesday in a non-conference doubleheader.
The Chippewas (15-16) have won seven of their last eight starts and are coming off a two-game sweep of Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan, which improved CMU to 5-3 in league play.
Tuesday's twinbill was originally scheduled for last week but was postponed because of unplayable conditions at Oakland. The Grizzlies are 18-15 and have won seven consecutive games.
Chippewa pitcher Rachael Knapp ranks third in the MAC with a 2.09 earned run average. She is 10-6 and has won nine of her last 11 decisions.
Katelyn Rentschler, a junior first baseman, has been swinging a hot bat for the Chippewas, having hit five home runs and driven in 13 runs in her last six games. Included in that stretch was a single-game school-record three round-trippers and a walk-off three-run blast.
Rentschler has hit safely in 12 of her last 24 at-bats, raising her average to .313, which ranks third among healthy players on the squad behind Trista Cox (.340) and Chelsea DeLamielleure (.320).
Cox also leads CMU in slugging percentage (.540), hits (34), runs (23), doubles (9) and total bases (54). Freshman Lacy Tolfree has stolen 19 bases for the Chippewas, a total that already ranks 19th for a single season in school history and leads the MAC.
