Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, May 12
Oxford, Ohio
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
27-24
7
vs
1
#2 Ohio
23-24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
1
4
1
0
0
1
7
11
1
Ohio
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
1
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Softball Wins MAC Tournament Opener
5/12/2022 5:21:00 PM | Softball
OXFORD, Ohio – Grace Lehto was magnificent, and she got plenty of support as the Central Michigan softball team rolled past Ohio, 7-1, in its Mid-American Conference Tournament opener at Miami Softball Stadium.
The third-seeded Chippewas (27-24) will take on top-seeded Miami (Ohio) on Friday (3:30 p.m.).
Lehto (16-12) struck out eight, walked four and allowed four hits. She pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball and was staked to a 5-0 lead after 2 ½ innings.
"I think (fellow pitcher) Katelyn Bean and I can agree that we have one of the best offenses in the MAC and we can be confident out there knowing that if we do give up a run, they've got our backs," said Lehto, who also credited her catcher, Samantha Mills. "Sammi did a great job behind the plate. She always gets me strikes. It was a great team effort, honestly. I think I had that confidence because I had insurance runs."
The Chippewas got a run in the second on a Maddie Springer RBI single and then it extended their lead to 5-0 with a four-run third. Kelsey Alexander delivered the big blow, a three-run double. Alexander later scored on an error.
The Chippewas added a run in the fourth on a Shannon Stein sacrifice fly and then got one in the seventh on a Skylar Coberley RBI single.
"We've got a lot of respect for Ohio and their program, and we knew it was going to be a tough test," third-year CMU coach McCall Salmon said. "I think it shows how prepared and how confident this team was going into today's matchup.
"We kept it simple at the plate, executed well on defense and Grace was able to do what she does (in the circle). It was great to see them come out with a MAC Tourney win.
"It's tournament time; you've got to bring your best game every single opportunity you have to play and that's what we'll do (Friday) against whomever our opponent is."
Stein's RBI was her 46th of the season, one shy of Molly Coldren's CMU program record of 47 set in 2012.
Stein, Caitlyn Britton and Coberley finished with two hits apiece to lead CMU's 11-hit attack.
The third-seeded Chippewas (27-24) will take on top-seeded Miami (Ohio) on Friday (3:30 p.m.).
Lehto (16-12) struck out eight, walked four and allowed four hits. She pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball and was staked to a 5-0 lead after 2 ½ innings.
"I think (fellow pitcher) Katelyn Bean and I can agree that we have one of the best offenses in the MAC and we can be confident out there knowing that if we do give up a run, they've got our backs," said Lehto, who also credited her catcher, Samantha Mills. "Sammi did a great job behind the plate. She always gets me strikes. It was a great team effort, honestly. I think I had that confidence because I had insurance runs."
The Chippewas got a run in the second on a Maddie Springer RBI single and then it extended their lead to 5-0 with a four-run third. Kelsey Alexander delivered the big blow, a three-run double. Alexander later scored on an error.
The Chippewas added a run in the fourth on a Shannon Stein sacrifice fly and then got one in the seventh on a Skylar Coberley RBI single.
"We've got a lot of respect for Ohio and their program, and we knew it was going to be a tough test," third-year CMU coach McCall Salmon said. "I think it shows how prepared and how confident this team was going into today's matchup.
"We kept it simple at the plate, executed well on defense and Grace was able to do what she does (in the circle). It was great to see them come out with a MAC Tourney win.
"It's tournament time; you've got to bring your best game every single opportunity you have to play and that's what we'll do (Friday) against whomever our opponent is."
Stein's RBI was her 46th of the season, one shy of Molly Coldren's CMU program record of 47 set in 2012.
Stein, Caitlyn Britton and Coberley finished with two hits apiece to lead CMU's 11-hit attack.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lehto, Grace (16-12)
L: Kohl, Mackensie (14-14)
Batting:
2B: Alexander, Kelsey 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1
RBI: Stein, Shannon 1 ; Coberley, Skylar 1 ; Alexander, Kelsey 3 ; Bracamonte, Emily 1 ; Springer, Maddie 1
SH: Vallimont, Michaleigh 1 ; Alexander, Kelsey 1
SF: Stein, Shannon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stein, Shannon 1 ; Nuss, Tessa 1 ; Britton, Caitlyn 1 ; Coberley, Skylar 2 ; Alexander, Kelsey 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1
Batting:
RBI: Spacek, Caroline 1
Base Running:
RUNS: O'Brien, Tori 1
SB: Walker, Tori 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/UTL
/ SoftballP/UTL
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballP/IF
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Softball vs Detroit Mercy
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Softball vs Ohio
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Softball vs Ohio DH
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