Softball ‘trying to fine-tune’ against Detroit before hitting MAC play
Players on the Central Michigan softball team reflected off of head coach Margo Jonker’s sunglasses as she stood against the fence by the dugout and watched them go through drills.
As she answered a question about the upperclassmen on the team stepping up and leading the team, she interrupted herself.
“You need your upperclassmen to be the leaders and – Lauren make sure you don’t flip the glove! Keep it down," she said and returned to the answer, "you need them to set the tone for the whole team."
Jonker said she knows, as the team plays at the University of Detroit on Tuesday, the success of the season rests on whether all the young players progress. CMU has a two-game win streak going into the double-header that begins at 2 p.m.
Twelve of the 19 players on the team are freshmen and sophomores. Jonker said she is preparing the team in oversight of the whole season, instead of specific games.
“We’re not preparing for Detroit specifically,” Jonker said. “Prior to the game, we’ll go over their tendencies, what kind of pitches they throw and things like that.”
Senior infielder Molly Coldron leads the team with four home runs and 20 RBIs. She is hitting .333 and has four doubles and a triple.
Junior outfielder Macy Merchant leads the team with a .423 batting average.
CMU plays its first Mid-American Conference games in a double-header at Kent State on March 30.
“We’re trying to fine-tune different aspects of the game,” Jonker said. “It’s always a matter of progressing.”
Jonker said the team has been successful overcoming the mental element of the game to play cohesively.
“This team has done a great job, up to this point, of playing team softball,” Jonker said. “Absolutely nothing comes easy in this game. What we’ve done consistently is our pitching. Our hitting is getting better.”
The first home game is April 4 against Michigan State at 4 p.m.
