Softball eclipses '09 win total, looks to put last season in past


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(Matthew Stephens/Senior Reporter)

It took 21 games for the CMU softball team to eclipse last year’s win total.

With 2008 first-team All-Mid-American Conference pitcher Kari Seddon back from injury, a key position switch in the infield and young talent stepping up, CMU has turned the page of a disastrous 2009 season, where it went 12-31.

In fact, coach Margo Jonker will not address last year’s struggles. She said she would not address the past even if the team had been successful.

Instead, Jonker likes to focus on the present, and the return of her ace is part of it.

“Kari Seddon is a gamer,” she said. “She’s just a competitor.”

Seddon missed the entire 2009 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

She is joined this season by freshman pitcher Kara Dornbos. The two have combined for a 12-5 record with an earned-run average of 2.04 and 104 strikeouts. Jonker said she is excited about the mix of youth and veteran leadership on the team.

Last season, Ali Pettit took the brunt of Seddon’s injury, appearing in 35 games. She compiled a 9-22 record, and the team ERA was 3.11.

But this season, the pitching will not be left to one person.

EARLY ON

CMU began the season losing six of its first eight games in the Tiger Invitational at Auburn and the USF Tournament at South Florida. But the Chippewas rebounded to win 11 of their last 13 games, including a five-game winning streak that was snapped Wednesday.

The team has 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. One of the biggest young contributors will be sophomore shortstop Molly Coldren.

Coldren leads the team in batting average (.379), runs batted in (21) and home runs (5).

“I just want to be a presence out there,” she said. “I want my team to feel comfortable in knowing that I can bring leadership to the team, and they can have confidence in me.”

The team has batted .281 this season, an improvement from last year’s .235, which ranked eighth in the MAC.

Coldren leads every hitting category, but several other players have emerged as threats at the plate.

Freshman Summer Knoop and juniors Amanda Patrick and Brittini Merchant have batting averages above .300.

SHARPER DEFENSE

Jonker said the defense has been a lot sharper this season, but she is worried that her team sometimes trying to make the big play instead of the easiest.

“We need to be a litter sharper on defense,” she said. “We need to go back to basics.”

She said if her team does the little things right, everything else will work itself out.

CMU (13-8) enters MAC play against Bowling Green today in Bowling Green, Ohio. Jonker said she wants to everyone to know this is not the same team as last year.

“We want to start out strong,” she said. “We want to send a message to the conference that we’re back.”

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