Saturday, February 18
Gainesville, Fla.
3:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
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UConn
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Central Michigan
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UCONN
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Photo by: Tom Knapp
Softball Splits in Second Day at Florida
2/18/2023 10:21:00 PM | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Central Michigan softball team split its first doubleheader of the season Saturday evening in Gainesville, Fla., dropping a 3-2 decision to Connecticut and blanking Delaware State 8-0 for the second straight day in five innings. In both games, the Chippewas received strong pitching performances.
Central Michigan (2-1) takes on No. 5 ranked and host Florida on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
In Saturday's first game against Connecticut, Central Michigan battled back from a 3-0 deficit with two runs in the sixth inning. Emily Baccamonte drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Kelsey Alexander scored on a throwing error.
Starting pitcher Kaitlyn Bean, who has been a staple in the circle for the Chippewas for five years, recorded her 63rd start today for the Maroon and Gold. She allowed just one earned run and three hits and struck out five batters in facing 25 batters while pitching a complete game six innings.
CMU Head Coach McCall Salmon credits Bean in a well-thrown game against the Huskies.
"Kaitlyn pitched a really, really good game," Salmon said. "We really liked what we saw from her in her first outing of the season, and she really kept us in the game."
Four Chippewas recorded hits. The hits came from Abbey Tolmie, Michaleigh Vallimont, Skylar Coberley and Kelsey Alexander.
For the second consecutive day, the Chippewas defeated Delaware State in five innings. After yesterday's 13-3 win, CMU defeated the Hornets 8-0 in Saturday's nightcap.
In the circle, sophomore Madelyn Wallace earned her first start of the season, and freshman Cierra Laska finished the game off in her first appearance. Wallace struck out five batters through five innings of work and Laska pitched the final three outs, striking out one batter. Wallace improved to 3-0 in three career starts.
"I think Maddy earning the start today is a testament to the hard work she has put in since our last season ended in May," Salmon said. "I was excited for her, she truly earned the opportunity to start today and I think she thrived. It has been so fun to see her grow from this time last year to now, and exciting to think about what the future has in store."
On offense, Central Michigan scored eight runs on 15 hits. Vallimont finished the game 3-4 with three RBI, Tolmie registered three hits and scored two runs, Cronin scored three runs and finished with two hits, and Samantha Mills drove in two runs on two hits.
The Chippewas used a four-run second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Mills drove in the first run on an RBI single, Vallimont drove in two runs on a single to center field, and Hollo drove in the final run on a sacrifice fly.
CMU went up 6-0 with two runs in the third inning as Maddie Springer drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Mills' RBI single made it 6-0.
Over CMU's first three games, the Chippewas have only recorded four strikeouts. That is a statistic that Salmon applauds and looks to build off moving forward.
"Those are the things we are looking for as a coaching staff," Salmon said. "Every single time someone is stepping in the box, they are doing whatever they can to give us the best opportunity to get on base. We want to keep building off that, put the ball in play, make the other team make plays, and good things will happen."
Central Michigan (2-1) takes on No. 5 ranked and host Florida on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
In Saturday's first game against Connecticut, Central Michigan battled back from a 3-0 deficit with two runs in the sixth inning. Emily Baccamonte drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Kelsey Alexander scored on a throwing error.
Starting pitcher Kaitlyn Bean, who has been a staple in the circle for the Chippewas for five years, recorded her 63rd start today for the Maroon and Gold. She allowed just one earned run and three hits and struck out five batters in facing 25 batters while pitching a complete game six innings.
CMU Head Coach McCall Salmon credits Bean in a well-thrown game against the Huskies.
"Kaitlyn pitched a really, really good game," Salmon said. "We really liked what we saw from her in her first outing of the season, and she really kept us in the game."
Four Chippewas recorded hits. The hits came from Abbey Tolmie, Michaleigh Vallimont, Skylar Coberley and Kelsey Alexander.
For the second consecutive day, the Chippewas defeated Delaware State in five innings. After yesterday's 13-3 win, CMU defeated the Hornets 8-0 in Saturday's nightcap.
In the circle, sophomore Madelyn Wallace earned her first start of the season, and freshman Cierra Laska finished the game off in her first appearance. Wallace struck out five batters through five innings of work and Laska pitched the final three outs, striking out one batter. Wallace improved to 3-0 in three career starts.
"I think Maddy earning the start today is a testament to the hard work she has put in since our last season ended in May," Salmon said. "I was excited for her, she truly earned the opportunity to start today and I think she thrived. It has been so fun to see her grow from this time last year to now, and exciting to think about what the future has in store."
On offense, Central Michigan scored eight runs on 15 hits. Vallimont finished the game 3-4 with three RBI, Tolmie registered three hits and scored two runs, Cronin scored three runs and finished with two hits, and Samantha Mills drove in two runs on two hits.
The Chippewas used a four-run second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Mills drove in the first run on an RBI single, Vallimont drove in two runs on a single to center field, and Hollo drove in the final run on a sacrifice fly.
CMU went up 6-0 with two runs in the third inning as Maddie Springer drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Mills' RBI single made it 6-0.
Over CMU's first three games, the Chippewas have only recorded four strikeouts. That is a statistic that Salmon applauds and looks to build off moving forward.
"Those are the things we are looking for as a coaching staff," Salmon said. "Every single time someone is stepping in the box, they are doing whatever they can to give us the best opportunity to get on base. We want to keep building off that, put the ball in play, make the other team make plays, and good things will happen."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nagy D (1-0)
L: Bean, Kaitlyn (0-1)
S: Jenkins H (1)
Batting:
2B: Alexander, Kelsey 1
RBI: Bracamonte, Emily 1
SF: Bracamonte, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coberley, Skylar 1 ; Alexander, Kelsey 1
Batting:
RBI: Sanden J 1
SF: Sanden J 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ring S 1 ; James A 2
SB: Ring S 1 ; James A 3
CS: Mason M 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
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