Friday, April 7
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
3 p.m.
Central Michigan University
15-17, 5-4
6
vs
0
Ohio
20-25, 10-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
OHIO
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
Central Michigan
0
0
2
1
0
3
X
6
10
0
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Lehto's One-Hitter, Clutch Hitting Breaks Ohio's 10-Game Win Streak
4/7/2023 6:04:00 PM | Softball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan Softball celebrated the 28th birthday of Margo Jonker Stadium in appropriate fashion with a 6-0 victory over Ohio Friday afternoon. With the series-opening win, Central Michigan moves to 15-17 overall and 5-4 in the MAC, while Ohio falls to 20-15 overall and 10-3 in the MAC.
Central Michigan's victory snaps Ohio's 10-game win streak and the Chippewas did it in a fashion that is familiar to all who know CMU softball, with solid pitching and clutch hitting.
Grace Lehto pitched the full seven innings for Central Michigan, collecting her sixth win of the season (6-8). Lehto allowed just one hit in the outing, a fifth inning single. Going the distance, Lehto struck out five and waked only one batter.
Central Michigan Head Coach, McCall Salmon says that Lehto has stuck true to what she is and it is paying off.
"Grace is just trusting the process and trusting herself," Salmon said. "She is really trusting the work she has put in. Nobody works harder than her and she tries to do the best for her team every time they step in the circle. We really see her trusting herself and she is shining now."
Offensively, the Chippewas did not miss a beat from where they left off in their previous series at Northern Illinois.
In the third inning, the Chippewas opened the scoring when Maddie Springer reached on a bases loaded error by the third baseman. Lucy Cronin scored on the errant throw and Kelsey Alexander scored on the errant throw back by the first baseman. CMU led, 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Michaleigh Vallimont reached on a bunt and scored Cierra Laska who pinch ran for Samantha Mills.
Central Michigan added three insurance runs in the sixth inning. Allyssa Hollo singled down the left field line and scored Mills. Skylar Coberley followed that up with a single that just missed going over the fence and Abbey Tolmie and Alexander scored to make the score 6-0 Chippewas.
Mills went 3-3 on the day, while Tolmie and Alexander each had two hits and a walk, while Vallimont, Hollo, and Coberley each notched one hit.
Entering Friday's competition, Ohio sat just one game above Central Michigan in the MAC standings, but with a 10-3 record, it felt like they were the top of the league.
Salmon said it motivated the Chippewas.
"You have to beat the top in the MAC to be the top in the MAC," Salmon said. "I'm not going to say our team didn't know what was going on in the other dugout and the success Ohio has had recently, but we had to stay within ourselves and play our game in order to be successful. We played with composure, confidence, and energy."
The Chippewas close out the series on Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. with an Easter Egg-stravaganza starting at 11:30 a.m. for younger fans at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Central Michigan's victory snaps Ohio's 10-game win streak and the Chippewas did it in a fashion that is familiar to all who know CMU softball, with solid pitching and clutch hitting.
Grace Lehto pitched the full seven innings for Central Michigan, collecting her sixth win of the season (6-8). Lehto allowed just one hit in the outing, a fifth inning single. Going the distance, Lehto struck out five and waked only one batter.
Central Michigan Head Coach, McCall Salmon says that Lehto has stuck true to what she is and it is paying off.
"Grace is just trusting the process and trusting herself," Salmon said. "She is really trusting the work she has put in. Nobody works harder than her and she tries to do the best for her team every time they step in the circle. We really see her trusting herself and she is shining now."
Offensively, the Chippewas did not miss a beat from where they left off in their previous series at Northern Illinois.
In the third inning, the Chippewas opened the scoring when Maddie Springer reached on a bases loaded error by the third baseman. Lucy Cronin scored on the errant throw and Kelsey Alexander scored on the errant throw back by the first baseman. CMU led, 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Michaleigh Vallimont reached on a bunt and scored Cierra Laska who pinch ran for Samantha Mills.
Central Michigan added three insurance runs in the sixth inning. Allyssa Hollo singled down the left field line and scored Mills. Skylar Coberley followed that up with a single that just missed going over the fence and Abbey Tolmie and Alexander scored to make the score 6-0 Chippewas.
Mills went 3-3 on the day, while Tolmie and Alexander each had two hits and a walk, while Vallimont, Hollo, and Coberley each notched one hit.
Entering Friday's competition, Ohio sat just one game above Central Michigan in the MAC standings, but with a 10-3 record, it felt like they were the top of the league.
Salmon said it motivated the Chippewas.
"You have to beat the top in the MAC to be the top in the MAC," Salmon said. "I'm not going to say our team didn't know what was going on in the other dugout and the success Ohio has had recently, but we had to stay within ourselves and play our game in order to be successful. We played with composure, confidence, and energy."
The Chippewas close out the series on Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. with an Easter Egg-stravaganza starting at 11:30 a.m. for younger fans at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lehto, Grace (6-8)
L: Miller, Skipp (10-8)
Base Running:
SB: Hummel, Bell 1
HBP: Keidel, Cici 1
Batting:
2B: Alexander, Kelsey 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1
RBI: Vallimont, Michaleigh 1 ; Hollo, Allyssa 1 ; Coberley, Skylar 2 ; Springer, Maddie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tolmie, Abbey 1 ; Alexander, Kelsey 2 ; Cronin, Lucy 1 ; Mills, Samantha 1 ; Laska, Cierra 1
SB: Alexander, Kelsey 1
HBP: Cronin, Lucy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF/UTL
/ Softball
IF/UTL
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
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