Saturday, April 1
DeKalb, Ill.
3 p.m. (CT)
Central Michigan University
12-17, 2-4
5
at
6
NIU
15-14, 6-3
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2
3
4
5
6
7
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H
E
CMU
0
4
0
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5
9
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NIU
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X
6
11
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Photo by: Tom Knapp
Softball Falls in Close Game to NIU
4/1/2023 7:06:00 PM | Softball
DEKALB, Ill. – The Central Michigan softball team came out on the short end of the series opener, 6-5 Saturday afternoon at Northern Illinois. The Chippewas fall to 12-17 overall and 2-4 in MAC play, while NIU advances to 15-14 and 6-3 in the MAC.
Central Michigan jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning. CMU's Samantha Mills started the scoring when she singled to right field and scored Lucy Cronin from second base. Abbey Tolmie doubled to left center to score Mills Emily Bracamonte who reached on a walk and gave Central Michigan the 3-0 lead. The scoring did not end there as Michaleigh Vallimont hit her second single of the game and drove home Tolmie to make the lead 4-0.
But the host Huskies scored six unanswered runs. They scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning when starting pitcher Danielle Stewart homered to center field. In the fifth inning, the Huskies rallied for five runs to take the lead. The Huskies used a two-RBI double by Stewart, an RBI singles by Mallinder and Ostrowski, and a RBI fielders choice by James to go up 6-4.
In the sixth inning, the Chippewas scored the final run of the game when Abbey Tolmie singled to center field and scored Tailynn Knapp, who pinch ran for Emily Bracamonte, scored. Bracamonte reached on a single through the left side.
Kaitlyn Bean took the loss for the Chippewas after throwing four innings and surrendering five runs on seven hits. Bean also struck out six in the outing. Grace Lehto threw the final two innings of relief, entering in the fifth with no outs. Lehto faced 10 batters and allowed four hits.
The Chippewas and Huskies will face off Sunday in a doubleheader to close the series. Noon is the slated time for first pitch at Mary M. Bell Field.
Central Michigan jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning. CMU's Samantha Mills started the scoring when she singled to right field and scored Lucy Cronin from second base. Abbey Tolmie doubled to left center to score Mills Emily Bracamonte who reached on a walk and gave Central Michigan the 3-0 lead. The scoring did not end there as Michaleigh Vallimont hit her second single of the game and drove home Tolmie to make the lead 4-0.
But the host Huskies scored six unanswered runs. They scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning when starting pitcher Danielle Stewart homered to center field. In the fifth inning, the Huskies rallied for five runs to take the lead. The Huskies used a two-RBI double by Stewart, an RBI singles by Mallinder and Ostrowski, and a RBI fielders choice by James to go up 6-4.
In the sixth inning, the Chippewas scored the final run of the game when Abbey Tolmie singled to center field and scored Tailynn Knapp, who pinch ran for Emily Bracamonte, scored. Bracamonte reached on a single through the left side.
Kaitlyn Bean took the loss for the Chippewas after throwing four innings and surrendering five runs on seven hits. Bean also struck out six in the outing. Grace Lehto threw the final two innings of relief, entering in the fifth with no outs. Lehto faced 10 batters and allowed four hits.
The Chippewas and Huskies will face off Sunday in a doubleheader to close the series. Noon is the slated time for first pitch at Mary M. Bell Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: CASSELL (3-5)
L: Bean, Kaitlyn (4-6)
S: NORRED (2)
Batting:
2B: Tolmie, Abbey 1 ; Vallimont, Michaleigh 1
RBI: Tolmie, Abbey 3 ; Vallimont, Michaleigh 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tolmie, Abbey 1 ; Cronin, Lucy 1 ; Bracamonte, Emily 1 ; Knapp, Tailynn 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1
Batting:
2B: STEWART 1
HR: STEWART 1
RBI: STEWART 3 ; MALLINDER 1 ; OSTROWSKI 1 ; JAMES 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RODRIGUEZ 1 ; WALINSKI 1 ; CRANE 1 ; STEWART 2 ; MALLINDER 1
SB: RODRIGUEZ 1 ; PECHMAN 2 ; SMITH 1
CS: STEWART 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
3B
/ SoftballIF/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
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