Carter and Cairo Hit Home Runs, Laska Sets Program Saves Record in Saturday Softball Split at Ohio

Saturday, March 28

Athens, Ohio

1:00 PM

Central Michigan University

13-13, 4-3

Ohio

21-11, 4-3

Central Mich.

Ohio

Photo by: Julia Bice '22,M'24 - @jb.jpg10

Carter and Cairo Hit Home Runs, Laska Sets Program Saves Record in Saturday Softball Split at Ohio

3/28/2026 7:16:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Cierra Laska tallies her sixth save of the 2026 season against Ohio on Saturday afternoon to secure the win for the Chippewas in game two.

By: Julia Bice

ATHENS, Ohio – Central Michigan Softball split its first day at Ohio on Saturday afternoon, falling 6-3 in the first game but rebounding with a 5-3 victory in the second game. In the win over the Bobcats, Cierra Laksa secured her sixth save of the year and set the new program record for single season saves.

Following the split, CMU shifts to 14-13 (5-3 MAC) and Ohio moves to 21-12 (4-4 MAC). The two teams will face off again on Sunday in the series finale.

Game 1
Ohio took an early lead in the first game with two home runs on the first seven pitches. The leadoff batter hit one to left field and the second batter hit it to right center for a 2-0 Ohio lead.

Alexa Carter, who started behind the plate for the Chippewas, answered with a home run of her own in the third, her fourth of the season, to deep to center field.

In the fourth inning, Ohio struck again with another home run and again in the fifth. After the fifth inning, the Chippewas trailed 5-1.

In the sixth inning, a fielder's choice scored a Bobcat from third and the hosts took a 6-1 advantage.

In the top of the seventh, the Chippewas continued to fight with a solo shot from Rachel Cairo and an RBI single from Emma Lotus.

Mackenzie Langan earned the start in the circle for Central Michigan, throwing 3.1 innings, issuing five hits. Aubrey Strelow entered in relief in the bottom of the fourth inning and finished the game. Strelow issued five hits across 16 batters faced with one strikeout.

Game 2
Central Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when London Williams reached on a fielder's choice and Emma Lotus crossed the plate.

Ohio answered in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.

In the fourth inning, Alexa Carter's double scored Rachel Cairo and Angela Petrovitch doubled to score Cierra Laska and Ella Luegge, who entered as a pinch runner for Carter. The hits gave Central Michigan a 4-1 lead after the top of the fourth.

Ohio scored in the fourth with an RBI double and in the sixth with a solo home run.

In the seventh inning, CMU added an insurance run with an RBI single from Cierra Laska. Laska then entered the game and made history with her record-breaking save. It was Laska's sixth save of the season, which set a new single-season record. Laska relieved Brooklyn Compau who threw six complete innings with four strikeouts across 27 batters faced.

For the latest news and updates on CMU Softball, follow the team on X (@cmusoftball) and Instagram (@cmichsoftball).

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— CMU —