Softball: What we missed over break
The Central Michigan softball team entered Spring Break winless, 0-5, and looking for a win.
Wins racked up as the Chippewas went 7-4 during their week spent in Tampa, Fla. competing in the USF Under Armour Invitational.
Best Game: 5-3 win Mar. 9 against East Tennessee State
The Chippewas held a 3-0 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth before the Buccaneers scored two and added another run in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
CMU regained the lead in the top of the eighth, pushing across two runs. Sophomore Morgan Yuncker pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win.
Worst Game: 4-1 loss Mar. 3 against Loyola Marymount
CMU only mustered three hits against the lions, scoring its only run in the first inning. Senior Molly Coldren drove in the run with an RBI triple.
LMU pitcher Molly Medeiros pitched a complete game while striking out four and walking one. Junior Kara Dornbos pitched five innings allowing four runs, two earned in the loss for CMU.
Biggest Surprise: Freshman Chelsea DeLamielleure
DeLamielleure had two hits including a double against USF on March 7. She also had an RBI double in the win against Temple and followed that game by driving in the game-winning run in the top of the eighth against East Tennessee State.
The St. Clair Shores native had three doubles and four RBIs during break.
MVP: Junior Summer Knoop
Knoop had 14 hits and drove in eight over break. She was 3-3 with three RBIs in the win against Cleveland State and had two hits and an RBI against Hampton. The Reed City native drove in the winning run in a 2-0 victory against South Dakota State.
Best performance: Junior Kara Dornbos
Last year Dornbos had the team's top-earned run average, and she showed how Friday, pitching a complete game allowing one earned run and three runs overall earning her first victory of the season. Dornbos struck out seven Owls and allowed five hits.
What’s coming up: Hoosier Class
CMU will head to Bloomington, Ind. this weekend and play five games in three days. Friday, the Chippewas take on North Dakota and Indiana. Saturday is against Chicago-Illinois and Michigan State. They will finish out the tournament facing Wright State Sunday.
CMU opens Mid-American Conference play at Kent State with a double-header on March 30. The Chippewas were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West division in the preseason poll. Kent State was picked to finish second in the MAC East. The first CMU home game is against Michigan State on Apr. 4 at 4 p.m.
