Central Michigan University Athletics
Big Home Weekend Looms for CMU Softball
4/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan softball team stands on the verge of a key four-game homestand this weekend when it plays host to Kent State and Buffalo in Mid-American Conference games at Margo Jonker Stadium.
The Chippewas are 17-16, 5-3 MAC and come into the weekend having won four consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
Kent State is 28-9 and is 7-2 in the league, tied with Ball State for the best mark in the conference. The Flashes have won three straight. Buffalo is 8-29, 0-8, and snapped a 13-game losing skid with a non-conference victory over Canisius on Wednesday.
The Chippewas and Kent State will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. CMU and Buffalo will square off on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
"The last time we played Kent we won the game, in the MAC tournament last year," CMU coach Margo Jonker said. "They're very good, they hit the ball quite well and they have good pitching and play good defense, so they have all the parts of the game.
"Buffalo has always been a challenge for us for whatever reason. There's something about them, so we need to make sure we are on top of our game against both teams."
The Chippewas have been on top of their game of late. After losing seven of eight to start the season, they climbed above the .500 mark for the first time this season with a non-conference doubleheader sweep at Oakland on Tuesday.
They won the opener at OU, 2-1, then took the nightcap, 8-5, in nine innings. Last weekend, the Chippewas took two MAC games from Eastern Michigan, winning the opener of the series on a walk-off three-run home run by Katelyn Rentschler.
"I think our team is finding a way to win," Jonker said. "Earlier in the year we did not do that and so it's been a great progression to watch because we could've easily lost the game at Oakland, but they found a way to win.
"It wasn't a pretty win at all, but I'm happy with them for sticking with it and coming back and just fighting."
Jonker has put a relatively young team on the field throughout the season, and it didn't help when senior shortstop CarolAnn Sexauer, one of the Chippewas' leading hitters and veteran leaders, was lost for the season to an injury.
There were early growing pains, and Jonker -- who is well into her fourth decade as the Chippewas' coach -- isn't naïve enough to believe there won't be more.
Still, the club has matured with experience, and is playing more consistently in all three areas: pitching, defense and hitting.
Injuries, an addition to that which stuck Sexauer, have taken a toll, yet the Chippewas have managed to adjust.
"I didn't anticipate all of that going on, but I'm just excited they've competed and worked hard," she said. "I think this team doesn't so much believe they're going to win, but they're going to fight to win. I think there's a little bit of a difference sometimes. I think they're going to keep fighting and keep coming back."
The Chippewas' top pitcher, sophomore Rachael Knapp, continues to surge after a slow start. She has won 10 of her last 12 decisions to raise her record to 11-6. And, after a four-inning relief appearance Tuesday against Oakland, has dropped her earned run average to a season-low 1.97.
In her last 9 1/3 innings, Knapp had struck out 10, walked two, and allowed just three hits.
"I think we're pitching much better than we were early on," Jonker said.
