Softball Takes Series Opener From NIU

Saturday, April 9

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

15-15, 0

Northern Illinois

9-18, 0

Northern Illinois

Central Michigan

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

4/9/2022 4:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Grace Lehto was solid in the circle and Caitlyn Britton homered on Saturday as the Central Michigan softball team topped Northern Illinois, 4-0, in the opener of a three-game Mid-American Conference softball series at Margo Jonker Stadium.

The Chippewas improved to 15-15, 6-3 MAC. NIU is 9-18, 3-9. The teams close the series with a doubleheader on Sunday (11 a.m.).

Lehto, a sophomore right-hander, struck out four and allowed five hits, all singles. She walked three, two of which came in the second inning when the Huskies stranded two runners in scoring position.

From there, Lehto held the Huskies in check until the seventh, when they put two on before Lehto got a popup to end the game with runners at second and third. It was Lehto's second shutout of the week after she struck out eight in a 4-0 win at Kent State on Tuesday.

"She gave us what we needed," CMU coach McCall Salmon said. "All we ask for is your best effort every single pitch. We just told her, 'Hit your spots and let your defense work.' After the first couple of innings, I told her no more freebies and she listened for the most part."

Britton hit her seventh homer of the season, an opposite-field shot to right center, in the fourth to give the Chippewas the lead. They added three in the sixth on a Samantha Mills RBI single, an Abbey Tolmie RBI groundout, and a Shannon Stein run-scoring double.

The Chippewas finished with 10 hits, two each from Stein, Michaleigh Vallimont and Mills. It was the first time that CMU has reached double digits in hits since an 8-0 win at Akron on March 20, a stretch of eight games.

Friday's victory came after the Chippewas dropped two of three during a mid-week series at Kent State.

"There were some things offensively that we didn't do well at Kent and at practice yesterday we implemented some specific focuses -- driving the ball to the opposite field and it was very evident," Salmon said. "Our first nine hitters (today), every single one of them drilled the ball to the opposite field. We knew we were going to need to do that to win. (The Huskies) play a little bit of a shift and it's about working through that shift.

"Overall, defensively and offensively and just our energy in the dugout was key. Every game in the MAC is tough. It doesn't matter who you're playing; it's really about how we execute and how we execute consistently, and I'll say that all year long and (our players) know it and I say it to them every day."