After breaking a program-worst losing streak, the softball team now tries to break its seven-game conference losing skid.

CMU hosts a doubleheader against Buffalo starting at 1 p.m. today at Margo Jonker Stadium, followed by the second game at 3 p.m.

CMU also hosts Kent State at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

KSU’s lineup has a different look than Buffalo’s. Coach Margo Jonker said Buffalo (18-19 Overall, 1-9 MAC) is a team built on solid base-hitting players, while Kent State (17-17 Overall, 8-1 MAC) utilizes its power.

“Buffalo is not a power-hitting team, they are a singles-hitting team and we can’t let them string those hits together,” she said. “Kent State has good hitting potential; they can have power but so can most of the other teams we play so that is nothing that is new to us.”

However, the two teams are statistically similar in a number of categories. Both having 28 doubles and five triples. Buffalo is hitting .210 on the season and has 185 hits. Kent State has 188 hits and is batting .221.

The difference between these two teams is in the home run department. The Golden Flashes have hit 21 home runs while the Bulls have managed to hit only five.

“Kent State doesn’t intimidate us because we know that they, just like any other team, can be shut down,” said senior second baseman Kim Cozat. “If we score our runs and play our defense behind our pitchers then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Kent State also has a pitcher, junior Kylie Reynolds, who Jonker described as “unique” because of the pitches in her pitching arsenal.

“Kent State also has an inside curve ball pitcher, which not many people have,” Jonker said. “The inside curve is a unique pitch that not many people have and you don’t get to see it very often.”

Reynolds owns a 14-10 record with a 1.82 ERA in 29 appearances on the season.

“All of our pitchers throw a curve ball and we hit off of them so there is no problem hitting that,” Cozat said. “We just have to look for our pitch and decide what we want to hit. If we don’t want the curve ball, then lay off it.”

Buffalo has two pitchers that have handled the load for the team for the majority of the year. Freshman Terese Diaz has earned a 9-9 record and leads the team in strikeouts with 133.

“I think that a lot of times you go up against a pitcher you don’t know what to expect,” Jonker said. “So in a way, inexperience as a pitcher can be a benefit if they are a good pitcher because the opposing team doesn’t know what they have.”

Despite the team’s struggles this season, Jonker said the team can still salvage the season.

“We are not looking to play the spoiler,” she said. “We want to get into the tournament. At this point in time the bottom line is for us to win games and get into the tournament.”

sports@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Jacob Lougheed