Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Keeps It Simple: Just Win
5/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - At this point, it might be easier to slog through an IRS 1040 form blindfolded than it would be to figure out the myriad scenarios for the Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament.
Suffice to say, if Central Michigan wins its series this weekend at Northern Illinois, it gets in. But almost every one of the league's 11 other teams can say the same thing, and CMU could end up in the tournament regardless of the outcomes of its games this weekend. Yes, it's that murky.
The Chippewas and NIU begin a three-game series with a doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday at 3 p.m. CMU is 22-24-1 overall, 9-10-1 MAC. NIU is 32-16, 12-8.
The Huskies lead the West and the Chippewas are second. Overall, NIU is third in the conference standings, while the Chippewas are sixth, just one percentage point ahead of seventh-place Western Michigan. The top eight teams in the final overall standings earn a spot in the tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 11, in Akron.
CMU is one of five teams with nine wins headed into the final weekend of the regular season and could, with a sweep of the Huskies, win the West. On the flip side, should the Chippewas lose all three games in DeKalb, Ill., they could be left out of the league tournament.
"I know there are a lot of the different scenarios, but it comes down to what we do," CMU coach Margo Jonker said. "We play Northern Illinois and it's the biggest series of the year. I've been saying that quite a bit this year.
"It's a big weekend for us, but no different than any other weekend this year. We just have to take care business one play at a time."
The Chipppewas last week took two of three games from Eastern Michigan, but the series win, their third straight, came at a price. Shortstop CarolAnn Sexauer, a senior and among the team leaders in several offensive statistical categories, was lost to an injury in the series opener, a 7-6 CMU win.
Another of the Chippewas' top hitters, Allison Curtis, may also miss the series because of an injury. Curtis, who did not play last weekend against Eastern, leads the Chippewa regulars with a .345 batting average, while Sexauer is third in batting average (.336), tied for second in home runs (6) and leads in RBI (32).
"The other players just have to step up," Jonker said.
No matter who is in the Chippewa lineup, the task of slowing NIU, the MAC's best-hitting team, falls to CMU pitchers Rachael Knapp and Hanna Warren.
They have combined with Laura Vaccaro for a team earned run average of 3.32, which ranks fifth in the MAC. And the Chippewa pitchers have been helped by an improved defense. CMU, which ranks fifth in the league with a .959 fielding percentage, has committed just one error in its last four games and has gone 10 consecutive games without making more than one error.
NIU's team ERA is 2.89, which ranks third, and the Huskies .953 fielding percentage is ninth in the conference.
The Huskies enter the series with a .302 team batting average. NIU's Emily Naegele leads the league in hitting at .412 while teammate Grable ranks third at .402.
