Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Begin Homestretch in the MAC
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- With just two Mid-American Conference weekends remaining in the regular season, the Central Michigan softball team is looking to better its standing with an eye toward a berth in the league tournament.
The Chippewas (19-18, 7-5 MAC) are tied with Northern Illinois (23-19, 7-5) for third in the West and trail second-place Western Michigan (17-19, 8-4 by one game.
The Chippewas and NIU are tied for fifth overall in the league. The top eight teams earn a berth in the conference tournament.
CMU will have its first opportunity to make up ground when it plays at Western Michigan in a doubleheader on Friday. The Chippewas will play a twinbill at NIU on Sunday.
"You're going to have movement within the middle of the pack," CMU assistant coach Joanna Lane said, adding that several top-tier teams in the MAC will be playing each other this weekend.
"That's why these games are exciting. That's why you play them, because on paper, it doesn't mean anything," Lane said. "It should be interesting on how it pans out with only one weekend left to go."
The Chippewas will close the regular season next weekend at home with two games against Toledo and two against Bowling Green.
The road has been kind to the Chippewas this season. They are 7-2 in games played on an opponent's home diamond and 4-4 at Margo Jonker Stadium. They are 8-12 in neutral-site contests.
"We like to play away, I guess," Lane said. "Sometimes it's honestly easier when you play away form home because you have a little bit more control of your schedule.
"We are fortunate that we have great support from the community at home games. But it also means there's a lot of expectations on our student-athletes. We have events before and after games, we have things going on with family and parents. So sometimes when you go on the road you can get away from the stresses that you have and just play."
Lane said that the rivalry with Western Michigan will add to the excitement on Friday.
"We have quite a few players from that side of the state, so obviously they grew up in the area and are familiar with Western," she said. "Kathy Leitke, the head coach at Western, played (at CMU) for Margo. So that's always exciting when you get to play against your alma mater. So it's been several years and it's still exciting for her to take on that competition.
"Overall, the rivalry permeates all sports, even though we might say that softball rivalry could be bigger with another school. At the end of the day, it's just fun for the community."
The Chippewas split its two MAC series last weekend with Kent State and Buffalo. Since dropping a doubleheader to league-leading Ball State to close March, the Chippewas are 11-3 in April.
Western Michigan is riding a three-game win streak and has won 12 of its last 15 starts. Northern Illinois split a two-game set with Ball State last weekend, has won 12 of its last 17.
