Softball shows it can compete with top MAC teams
Junior pitcher Kari Seddon threw a complete game, one-hitter, as the CMU softball team beat the defending Mid-American Conference tournament champion Miami (OH) on the road.
The game was tied at zero going into the sixth inning when coach Margo Jonker decided to bring in junior utility infielder Amanda Patrick to pinch hit.
Jonker said Patick has been hitting well lately and thought she would provide a spark. Patrick did that when she hit an RBI-double to bring in the only run of the game.
“Patrick just relaxed out there,” Jonker said. “She was in control the whole time, and just tried to make solid contact.”
Jonker said the game was a traditional pitchers duel. She said both pitchers had a great game, and she was satisfied to come out with a victory.
“It’d be nice to have a few more hits,“ she said. “ But I don’t care how we win, as long as we win.”
Jonker said it was good to see Seddon succeed in such a pressure-filled situation and it can get pretty tight when the game goes into the seventh inning and it’s only a 1-0 game.
But Seddon stranded a one-out walk in the last inning to secure the win for the Chippewas.
CMU plays the RedHawks again tomorrow in the series finale.
CMU also split with defending MAC champion Ball State in a doubleheader Friday.
The Chippewas rallied to come back from an eight run deficit in the first game, but fell 12-8. CMU responded in the second game to come away with a split, winning 11-3.
“We responded well after playing an ugly first game,” Jonker said. “We hit the ball well today, but we really shored things up defensively in the second game.”
CMU struggled early in the first game with three errors in the first inning, leading to seven runs. Another error in the second inning gave the Cardinals an eight-run lead.
After trading runs in the fourth and a rally in the fifth, redshirt freshman catcher Brogan Darwin hit a two-run home run in the sixth to bring the Chippewas within two runs. But that was as close as they would get.
Ball State came back in the bottom of the sixth and scored three more runs on two more errors committed by CMU to make it a 12-7 game.
“This was an ugly game. The first inning was particularly ugly as we kept making errors to keep the inning going,” Jonker said. “I was really pleased that the team was able to come back and score some runs after falling behind so early.”
The second games' first inning favored CMU, however. It scored three runs in the opening inning after senior outfielder Christina Novak led off the game with her fourth home run of the season.
The Chippewas scored five runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach for Ball State. The inning was highlighted with Darwin’s three-run homer, which set a record for single-season home runs for CMU with 26.
Freshman pitcher Kara Dornbos improved to 7-2 in the circle this season. She has an earned-run average of 2.02. Her and Seddon have combined for 15 victories this year.
