Central Michigan University Athletics
Softball Notebook: Improved Play Flips The Script
2/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - From 1-3 to 3-1. It doesn't happen by accident.
Central Michigan softball coach Margo Jonker was much more satisfied with her team after it finished 3-1 last weekend in Lynchburg, Va., improving from the 1-3 mark it posted on the opening weekend of the season in Macon, Ga.
"A lot of the things that we talked about after weekend one, that we were disappointed in, the team made a big effort to improve upon those things," said Jonker, whose team (4-4) is preparing for its Spring Break trip to Florida.
Jonker cited aggressiveness at the plate and defensive leadership as two areas that jump immediately to mind.
CMU improved in nearly every measurable category both at the plate and in the field from Macon to Lynchburg.
• CMU hit .266 on the opening weekend, and posted a .348 batting average in Lynchburg.
• The Chippewas finished with 39 hits in Lynchburg after collecting 29 in Macon. Thirteen of those hits in Virginia went for extra bases; they collected just five such hits in Georgia.
• CMU's slugging percentage was .375 in Georgia, .500 in Virginia; and its on-base percentage increased 60 points from weekend one to weekend two.
• The Chippewas swiped four bases (in five attempts) in Virgina after going just 1 for 3 in that department in Georgia.
• CMU committed 11 errors on opening weekend, and just six in Virginia. It's fielding percentage on weekend one was .915; it was .954 on weekend two. The Chippewas allowed 21 runs, 12 of them earned, in Georgia. They surrendered 11 runs, 10 of them earned, in Virginia.
IN THE CIRCLE
CMU's pitching staff improved from the opening weekend as well, posting a combined 2.50 earned run average in Virginia. The staff ERA was 3.11 in Georgia.
Perhaps most telling of the staff's improvement: CMU pitching issued 17 walks and hit six opposing batters in Georgia; in Virgina, those numbers were four and two.
In both tournaments, senior Hanna Warren made two starts and freshman Cloe Mallory and Samantha Howell started one game each.
The roles of the five members of the staff will not be settled, Jonker said, until after Spring Break and the Chippewas prepare to defend their Mid-American Conference regular-season championship.
"It's going to depend a lot on how people do in a starting role versus in relief," Jonker said. "We're going to give people different opportunities both as starters and relievers to see who actually steps up. I'm overall pretty happy."
HITTING STARS
Three Chippewa starters - Lacy Tolfree, Erika Underwood and Maison Kalina - hit .500 or better at Virginia. No CMU starter hit better than .400 in Macon.
Tolfree, CMU's right fielder, continued her torrid start, going 7 for 12 with two triples in Virginia. Tolfree went hitless in the Chippewas' final game in Virginia, ending a seven-game hit streak. She leads CMU, and ranks third in the MAC, with a .481 batting average.
Underwood hit .571 with one home run and three RBI, and Kalina hit .400 with four doubles and six RBI. Underwood finished the weekend with a team-best .917 slugging percentage, and earned MAC West Player of the Week honors.
