Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, April 17
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
5-19, 0
5
vs
2
Northern Illinois
12-22, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northern Illinois
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
6
5
Central Michigan
2
1
0
0
2
0
X
5
8
0
Freshman Michaleigh Vallimont slides across the plate with the winning run in the nightcap on Saturday at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Photo by: Emma Hug
Softball Completes Sweep With Walk-Off Win
4/17/2021 8:10:00 PM | Softball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Emily Bracamonte's sacrifice fly brought home Michaleigh Vallimont with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday, giving Central Michigan a dramatic walk-off 10-9 victory over Northern Illinois and a sweep of a Mid-American Conference softball doubleheader at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Grace Lehto tossed a complete game in leading the Chippewas to a 5-2 win in the opener. The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak. CMU improved to 6-19, 4-11 MAC with the sweep.
The teams close their four-game series on Sunday (noon) at Margo Jonker Stadium.
The Chippewas pounded out 26 hits in the twinbill, including a season-high 18, in the nightcap. They committed just one error on the day.
"They deserve this," CMU coach McCall Salmon said of her players. "This is what we've seen at practice consistently. They grinded on every single out we had to make, and I was happy with their overall team effort today."
Game 1
Lehto allowed six hits and struck out three for the victory and was staked to a 3-0 lead through two innings.
Shannon Stein hit a two-run double in the first and the Chippewas picked up a run in the second when Michaleigh Vallimont scampered home from third on an NIU error.
"We want to score first and score last," Salmon said, adding that the key is "just maintaining that positive mentality and sticking to our game plan. We cleaned it up defensively and I thought Grace did really well in the circle."
The Chippewas added two runs in the fifth inning, the first on a Vallimont RBI double, and the second when Skylar Coberley scored on an error.
Stein and Shaidan Knapp finished with two hits apiece for CMU.
Game 2
The Chippewas built an 8-1 lead through three innings before NIU struck back, scoring five times in the fourth and twice in the sixth to forge an 8-8 tie. Both teams scored a run in the seventh, setting the stage for the dramatic eighth.
The Chippewas used two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out when Bracamonte drove in the winning run with her sacrifice fly.
Caitlyn Britton had four hits to lead the Chippewas at the plate and started in the circle, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits. Lehto (5-8) went the final 4 2/3 innings for the victory. She allowed three runs on six hits.
Bracamonte and Skylar Coberley added three hits apiece for the Chippewas, while Stein, Knapp and Abbey Tolmie had two each. Five of CMU's hits were doubles, two of which came from Bracamonte.
Britton, Coberley and Bracamonte drove in two runs apiece.
It was just the third pitching appearance for Britton, a sophomore right-hander, and her longest outing as a Chippewa.
"From a pitching standpoint and offensively, she really was key to our ability to win two games today," Salmon said.
Grace Lehto tossed a complete game in leading the Chippewas to a 5-2 win in the opener. The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak. CMU improved to 6-19, 4-11 MAC with the sweep.
The teams close their four-game series on Sunday (noon) at Margo Jonker Stadium.
The Chippewas pounded out 26 hits in the twinbill, including a season-high 18, in the nightcap. They committed just one error on the day.
"They deserve this," CMU coach McCall Salmon said of her players. "This is what we've seen at practice consistently. They grinded on every single out we had to make, and I was happy with their overall team effort today."
Game 1
Lehto allowed six hits and struck out three for the victory and was staked to a 3-0 lead through two innings.
Shannon Stein hit a two-run double in the first and the Chippewas picked up a run in the second when Michaleigh Vallimont scampered home from third on an NIU error.
"We want to score first and score last," Salmon said, adding that the key is "just maintaining that positive mentality and sticking to our game plan. We cleaned it up defensively and I thought Grace did really well in the circle."
The Chippewas added two runs in the fifth inning, the first on a Vallimont RBI double, and the second when Skylar Coberley scored on an error.
Stein and Shaidan Knapp finished with two hits apiece for CMU.
Game 2
The Chippewas built an 8-1 lead through three innings before NIU struck back, scoring five times in the fourth and twice in the sixth to forge an 8-8 tie. Both teams scored a run in the seventh, setting the stage for the dramatic eighth.
The Chippewas used two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out when Bracamonte drove in the winning run with her sacrifice fly.
Caitlyn Britton had four hits to lead the Chippewas at the plate and started in the circle, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits. Lehto (5-8) went the final 4 2/3 innings for the victory. She allowed three runs on six hits.
Bracamonte and Skylar Coberley added three hits apiece for the Chippewas, while Stein, Knapp and Abbey Tolmie had two each. Five of CMU's hits were doubles, two of which came from Bracamonte.
Britton, Coberley and Bracamonte drove in two runs apiece.
It was just the third pitching appearance for Britton, a sophomore right-hander, and her longest outing as a Chippewa.
"From a pitching standpoint and offensively, she really was key to our ability to win two games today," Salmon said.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lehto, Grace (4-8)
L: OSTROWSKI, Delaney (2-5)
Batting:
2B: GUERICKE, Megan 1
RBI: WALINSKI, Kelly 1 ; GUERICKE, Megan 1
SH: MAHY, Mackenzie 1
SF: WALINSKI, Kelly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RODRIGUEZ, Amberly 1 ; MAHY, Mackenzie 1
HBP: APATO, Kira 1 ; GUERICKE, Megan 1
Batting:
2B: Stein, Shannon 1 ; Vallimont, Michaleigh 1
RBI: Stein, Shannon 2 ; Vallimont, Michaleigh 1
SH: Tolmie, Abbey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knapp, Shaidan 1 ; Gardner, Morgan 1 ; Alexander, Kelsey 1 ; Vallimont, Michaleigh 1 ; Coberley, Skylar 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
dh/ph
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballP/UTL
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballP/IF
/ Softball
OF/UTL
/ Softball
OF
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