Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, February 20
Bowling Green, Ky.
Noon
Central Michigan University
2-3
3
vs
1
Bellarmine
4-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Bellarmine
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
1
Central Michigan
2
0
0
0
0
1
X
3
10
1
Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22
Softball Downs Bellarmine In Finale Of Season-Opening Tournament
2/20/2022 6:40:00 PM | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Caitlyn Britton hit a two-run homer and Grace Lehto fired a complete game four-hitter on Sunday as the Central Michigan softball team defeated Bellarmine, 3-1, in the Chippewas' finale at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic.
CMU finished 2-3 in the season-opening tournament. The Chippewas are scheduled to play next weekend in the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Conway, S.C.
"Any opening weekend, there's lots of anticipation and getting back on the dirt for the first time in a few months was really good for us," CMU coach McCall Salmon said.
Lehto bounced back from a subpar outing on Saturday when she surrendered nine runs in a 12-4 loss to Southeast Missouri State.
She struck out seven and walked one against Bellarmine in improving to 1-2.
Britton hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first inning to stake Lehto to a 2-0 lead. The Chippewas tacked on an insurance in the sixth on Allyssa Hollo's pinch-hit two-out single.
Hollo delivered a pinch-hit three-run homer in the Chippewas' loss to SEMO on Saturday.
"I think our average was below .100 last season in that category, producing in a pinch-hit situation," Salmon said. "And for us to be successful right out of the gate like that this season is exciting. When we talk about our progression, that's a piece of the puzzle that's encouraging."
Michaleigh Vallimont and Emily Bracamonte finished with two hits apiece to lead the Chippewas' 10-hit attack against Bellarmine (4-6).
The Chippewas rebounded to win two of their final three games in the tournament after dropping their first two.
Three times in the tournament the Chippewas scored in their first at-bat, and they hit a combined six homers in their five games.
"Our ability to score in the first inning in three of our five games was key and I hope it's something that I hope we can carry on to the rest of the year," Salmon said. "Getting that first win on Saturday morning against Bellarmine, it was nice to see some people settle in at spots and for us to start to compete and play like we know that we can."
Stein hit two of CMU's homers on the weekend. It took the Chippewas 15 games to hit homer No. 6 last season, and they finished 2021 with 31 round-trippers. Britton led the team with seven home runs and Stein had six.
"That shows the commitment to our strength and conditioning program here," Salmon said. "Obviously Shannon Stein and Caitlyn Britton are power threats for us, but Emily Bracamonte, Michaleigh Vallimont and Hollo -- it was nice to see them have some good swings at the plate and hopefully we'll continue that trend week to week."
CMU finished 2-3 in the season-opening tournament. The Chippewas are scheduled to play next weekend in the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Conway, S.C.
"Any opening weekend, there's lots of anticipation and getting back on the dirt for the first time in a few months was really good for us," CMU coach McCall Salmon said.
Lehto bounced back from a subpar outing on Saturday when she surrendered nine runs in a 12-4 loss to Southeast Missouri State.
She struck out seven and walked one against Bellarmine in improving to 1-2.
Britton hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first inning to stake Lehto to a 2-0 lead. The Chippewas tacked on an insurance in the sixth on Allyssa Hollo's pinch-hit two-out single.
Hollo delivered a pinch-hit three-run homer in the Chippewas' loss to SEMO on Saturday.
"I think our average was below .100 last season in that category, producing in a pinch-hit situation," Salmon said. "And for us to be successful right out of the gate like that this season is exciting. When we talk about our progression, that's a piece of the puzzle that's encouraging."
Michaleigh Vallimont and Emily Bracamonte finished with two hits apiece to lead the Chippewas' 10-hit attack against Bellarmine (4-6).
The Chippewas rebounded to win two of their final three games in the tournament after dropping their first two.
Three times in the tournament the Chippewas scored in their first at-bat, and they hit a combined six homers in their five games.
"Our ability to score in the first inning in three of our five games was key and I hope it's something that I hope we can carry on to the rest of the year," Salmon said. "Getting that first win on Saturday morning against Bellarmine, it was nice to see some people settle in at spots and for us to start to compete and play like we know that we can."
Stein hit two of CMU's homers on the weekend. It took the Chippewas 15 games to hit homer No. 6 last season, and they finished 2021 with 31 round-trippers. Britton led the team with seven home runs and Stein had six.
"That shows the commitment to our strength and conditioning program here," Salmon said. "Obviously Shannon Stein and Caitlyn Britton are power threats for us, but Emily Bracamonte, Michaleigh Vallimont and Hollo -- it was nice to see them have some good swings at the plate and hopefully we'll continue that trend week to week."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lehto, Grace (1-2)
L: Goatley, Carson (1-3)
Batting:
RBI: Collins, Chloe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Webb, Hannah 1
Batting:
2B: Bracamonte, Emily 1
HR: Britton, Caitlyn 1
RBI: Britton, Caitlyn 2 ; Hollo, Allyssa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stein, Shannon 1 ; Britton, Caitlyn 1 ; Bracamonte, Emily 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballP/IF
/ SoftballOF/UTL
/ SoftballWin Recap vs Detroit Mercy
Thursday, May 01
Softball vs Detroit Mercy
Wednesday, April 30
Softball vs Ohio
Sunday, April 27
Softball vs Ohio DH
Saturday, April 26