Pair Of 3-Run Homers Lift Softball To Sweep Of Ohio

Saturday, May 15

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

18-28, 0

Ohio

21-24, 0

Ohio

Central Michigan

Teammates greet Caitlyn Britton (rght) at the plate after Britton's three-run homer in game two on Saturday at Margo Jonker Stadium.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

5/15/2021 7:46:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan softball team got a pair of three-run homers and some solid pitching on Saturday in sweeping Ohio, 6-4 and 6-3, in a Mid-American Conference doubleheader at Margo Jonker Stadium.

The Chippewas are 19-28; Ohio is 21-25. Both teams are 17-20 in MAC play. They are scheduled to close the series and the season on Sunday (noon).

Morgan Gardner hit a three-run homer as CMU built a 6-0 lead through two innings in the opener, and then Caitlyn Britton smacked a three-run round-tripper in the fifth inning to put the Chippewas ahead for good in the nightcap.

Grace Lehto (10-10) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out four for the win in the opener.

She held the fort in the seventh inning after Ohio got a run on an Alexis Dawe one-out RBI double that drew the Bobcats to 6-4. With the potential tying run at the plate, Lehto got a strikeout and then a groundout to end it.

"For her first time throwing in over a week, it was nice to see her basically keep us in the game and give us an opportunity to win," CMU coach McCall Salmon said. "We didn't know if we'd get seven (innings) out of her, and she was able to give us seven and worked herself out of some jams, and that was nice to see. Proud of her performance."

Lehto, a freshman, is 3-0 with a 2.54 earned run average in her last four starts.

"You can tell when you watch her in the circle how much more comfortable she is compared to how she was in March," Salmon said. "She's a competitor and she's only going to continue to get better."

The Chippewas, who had just four hits in a 7-1 loss on Friday, scored six runs on seven hits in the first two innings of Saturday's opener.

"We were out front (Friday) trying to pull too much," Salmon said. "We talked about hitting the ball where it's pitched. That first inning, we hit a couple of singles to the right side and that kind of kick-started us. Getting those six (runs) early set the tone and helped us carry the momentum."

Gardner singled in a run and Britton followed with an RBI double in the first inning. In the second, Samantha Mills drove in a run with a single before Gardner drilled her three-run blast on an 0-2 pitch. It was her fourth homer of the season.

In the second game, the Chippewas trailed 3-0 before scoring three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Abigail Niehaus' two-run single highlighted the fourth, while Britton hit her team-leading seventh homer of the season in the fifth to put the Chippewas ahead for good

The Chippewas did all their damage at the plate against Ohio's Mackensie Kohl, who had their number in Friday's opener.

"Our hitters were controlling their at-bats instead of letting her control the at-bats," Salmon said.

Britton (2-1) held the Bobcats to one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings in earning the win in relief of Kaitlyn Bean. Bean surrendered three runs on eight hits, while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings. Britton came on with two out in the fourth inning and runners on second and third and ended the inning with a groundout.

"Bean grinded it out with what she had left in the tank today and gave us what we needed," Salmon said. "She didn't have her best stuff, but she worked through some jams.

"Caitlyn Britton, she throws more of a drop ball and (the umpire) was calling that lower pitch. It was a good transition from Bean to Britton and Britton was able to get the job done and finish it out."