Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, February 20
Minneapolis, Minn.
12:30 PM (ET) / 11:30 AM (CT)
Central Michigan University
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North Dakota State
7-5
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Central Michigan
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North Dakota State
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Photo by: Julia Bice '22,M'24 - @jb.jpg10
Hot Bats on Friday Leads Softball to Split
2/20/2026 7:54:00 PM | Softball
The Chippewas grabbed a run-rule victory over North Dakota State and fell to Iowa State in the opening day of the Gopher Indoor Classic.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Another outing for the Chippewa softball team, another opportunity for the bats to come alive.
The Chippewas tallied 24 hits in the two games played on the opening day at the Gopher Indoor Classic hosted by Minnesota. Central Michigan defeated North Dakota State 9-0 in five innings to open the day and fell to Iowa State 5-7 in the afternoon game. CMU moves to 3-4 on the season with two more games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Game 1
In the first game, Central Michigan came out swinging – literally. The Chippewas charted six runs in the first inning with seven hits. Angela Petrovitch started the game with a double to left center on the second pitch she saw. Grace Koenig followed that up with a single and a double from London Williams plated Petrovitch to get the Chippewas on the board.
Rachel Cairo came to the plate and hit her second career home run to right field plating Koenig and Williams; 4-0 Central Michigan.
The fifth run scored from a single off the bat of Hannah Tassin to score Tori Briggs who reached with a sinlge of her own. Keira Tolmie charted a sacrifice fly to score Emma Lotus for the sixth run of the inning.
Central Michigan scored two more runs in the top of the fourth inning with a home run from Koening to scored Petrovitch, who reached via single. The final run scored in the fifth with an RBI credited to Hannah Tassin that scored Ella Luegge, who entered as a pinch runner for Briggs.
Brooklyn Compau threw a complete game shutout in the game against the Bison. The seventh complete game of her career and the second shutout in her three seasons in the Maroon & Gold. The first shutout for the Chippewa pitching staff this season.
Cairo's first hit in the game – her home run, was the 50th hit of her career, and Briggs, who went 3-3 in the game, also charted her 50th career hit, in her sophomore season.
Game 2
The battle with the Cyclones was nothing short of exciting with more offense and a team effort all the way around.
The Chippewas and Cyclones each tallied 10 hits.
Central Michigan started the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double from Jenna Kuzara and an RBI single from Rachel Cairo. Petrovitch, who reached on an infield single scored on the Kuzara double and Williams was hit by a pitch to reach.
Iowa State did not score until the third inning, when they scored one run on two RBI singles.
CMU scored two more in the bottom of the third, in response to the Cyclones. Kuzara charted another RBI with a single to score Petrovitch, who reached via single once again. The fourth run came on Kuzara reaching from a wild pitch thrown by Iowa State.
In the top of the fourth inning, Iowa State took a two run lead via home run.
CMU responded once again and scored a run in the fifth inning with an RBI groundout from Koenig to score Keira Tolmie who reached via double; 6-5 Iowa State.
Iowa State extended their lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single.
Mackenzie Langan took the start for Central Michigan and threw 3.1 innings issuing six hits, three walks and collecting two strikeouts. Aubrey Strelow, who took the loss for the Chippewas threw for 2.2 innings. Cierra Laska closed the game out in the final inning with two flyouts and a strikeout.
The Chippewas will face LIU and the host, Minnesota on Saturday before one final game on Sunday against the Golden Gophers.
For the latest news and updates on CMU Softball, follow the team on X (@cmusoftball) and Instagram (@cmichsoftball).
The Chippewas tallied 24 hits in the two games played on the opening day at the Gopher Indoor Classic hosted by Minnesota. Central Michigan defeated North Dakota State 9-0 in five innings to open the day and fell to Iowa State 5-7 in the afternoon game. CMU moves to 3-4 on the season with two more games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Game 1
In the first game, Central Michigan came out swinging – literally. The Chippewas charted six runs in the first inning with seven hits. Angela Petrovitch started the game with a double to left center on the second pitch she saw. Grace Koenig followed that up with a single and a double from London Williams plated Petrovitch to get the Chippewas on the board.
Rachel Cairo came to the plate and hit her second career home run to right field plating Koenig and Williams; 4-0 Central Michigan.
The fifth run scored from a single off the bat of Hannah Tassin to score Tori Briggs who reached with a sinlge of her own. Keira Tolmie charted a sacrifice fly to score Emma Lotus for the sixth run of the inning.
Central Michigan scored two more runs in the top of the fourth inning with a home run from Koening to scored Petrovitch, who reached via single. The final run scored in the fifth with an RBI credited to Hannah Tassin that scored Ella Luegge, who entered as a pinch runner for Briggs.
Brooklyn Compau threw a complete game shutout in the game against the Bison. The seventh complete game of her career and the second shutout in her three seasons in the Maroon & Gold. The first shutout for the Chippewa pitching staff this season.
Cairo's first hit in the game – her home run, was the 50th hit of her career, and Briggs, who went 3-3 in the game, also charted her 50th career hit, in her sophomore season.
Game 2
The battle with the Cyclones was nothing short of exciting with more offense and a team effort all the way around.
The Chippewas and Cyclones each tallied 10 hits.
Central Michigan started the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double from Jenna Kuzara and an RBI single from Rachel Cairo. Petrovitch, who reached on an infield single scored on the Kuzara double and Williams was hit by a pitch to reach.
Iowa State did not score until the third inning, when they scored one run on two RBI singles.
CMU scored two more in the bottom of the third, in response to the Cyclones. Kuzara charted another RBI with a single to score Petrovitch, who reached via single once again. The fourth run came on Kuzara reaching from a wild pitch thrown by Iowa State.
In the top of the fourth inning, Iowa State took a two run lead via home run.
CMU responded once again and scored a run in the fifth inning with an RBI groundout from Koenig to score Keira Tolmie who reached via double; 6-5 Iowa State.
Iowa State extended their lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single.
Mackenzie Langan took the start for Central Michigan and threw 3.1 innings issuing six hits, three walks and collecting two strikeouts. Aubrey Strelow, who took the loss for the Chippewas threw for 2.2 innings. Cierra Laska closed the game out in the final inning with two flyouts and a strikeout.
The Chippewas will face LIU and the host, Minnesota on Saturday before one final game on Sunday against the Golden Gophers.
For the latest news and updates on CMU Softball, follow the team on X (@cmusoftball) and Instagram (@cmichsoftball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Compau , Brooklyn (1-3)
L: Jocelyn McClary (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Petrovitch, Angela 1 ; Williams, London 1
3B: Briggs, Tori 1
HR: Koenig, Grace 1 ; Cairo, Rachel 1
RBI: Koenig, Grace 2 ; Williams, London 1 ; Cairo, Rachel 3 ; Tassin, Hannah 2 ; Tolmie, Keira 1
SF: Tolmie, Keira 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Petrovitch, Angela 2 ; Koenig, Grace 2 ; Williams, London 1 ; Cairo, Rachel 1 ; Briggs, Tori 1 ; Luegge, Ella 1 ; Lotus, Emma 1
SB: Koenig, Grace 1 ; Williams, London 1 ; Kuzara, Jenna 1 ; Tassin, Hannah 1
CS: Lotus, Emma 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
LHP/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ Softball1B/UTL
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