Softball looking to grow at Traverse City tournament
Softball hopes to build on its successful fall exhibitions this weekend at the Traverse City West Collegiate Softball Tournament.
The four-team tournament will feature three, five-inning games of round-robin play on Saturday. Teams will then be ranked based on their play for Sunday’s knockout bracket. Other schools competing in this year’s tournament are the University of Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland University.
“It’s a big tournament for us. I think we will need to step up our game on all levels,” said head coach Margo Jonker. “It’s just a matter of getting everyone an opportunity to play right now, which is one of our goals.”
Getting playing time is one of the goals the Chippewas have for the tournament.
“We want to do a little bit of team bonding there, get to know each other and get to know what makes each of us tick," Jonker said. "It’s going to be a combination of team bonding and getting better on the field."
CMU will get a chance to face some of the best competition in the nation when it plays Michigan. The reigning Big Ten Champions have won six-straight Big Ten titles and made it to the Women’s College World Series last season.
“It’s always a good challenge for us to play them in the fall," said senior pitcher Chelsea Sundberg. "They are always good competition, and it’s fun to play those girls in preparation of playing them again in the spring."
Jonker was calm at the prospect of playing one of the nation’s top teams.
“We play Michigan every year. We play them in the fall and we play them in the spring," Jonker said. "They are one of our opponents"
