Call to arms: Chippewas look to pitching staff to defend MAC title


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Morgan Taylor | Staff Photographer Central Michigan's softball pitchers pose for a portrait in the IAC on Tuesday afternoon.

Central Michigan softball will be without its longtime ace Kara Dornbos as it sets to defend the Mid-American Conference championship in 2014.

The Chippewas are looking to fill Dornbos' 179 innings pitched last season with a staff of three returning pitchers who combined for 179.2 innings last season, and two additional pitchers.

Dornbos left her mark in several career records in program history. She is third all-time in complete games (68) and  innings pitched (630.2), sixth in shutouts (21),  sixth in strikeouts (354) and fifth in saves (five).

Her 36 starts last season set the single-season appearance record. Dornbos was also the Mid-American Conference tournament MVP, leading CMU to a 4-0 tournament record and its 10th championship.

When the 2014 season begins today, the softball team will look to the rest of its pitching group, and some newcomers, to fill the void Dornbos left behind.

Seniors Chelsea Sundberg and Morgan Yuncker have the most experience in the circle. They are joined by junior Kristen Kuhlman, who also plays in the outfield, but head coach Margo Jonker said she is interested to see what sophomore Tricia Graham and true freshman Rachel Knapp have to offer as well.

"We don't have Dornbos," Jonker said, "but we do have Sundberg who had really good stats. Yuncker is pitching really well, Kuhlman had some good outings, Graham and Knapp are new, but I expect them to contribute."

However, all five have one thing in common – they aren't Dornbos. All five bring something different to the table.

"None of us throw the same at all," Yuncker said. "(Sundberg) sticks with her riseball and screwball and has other great pitches. Myself, I'm more fastball and dropball. (Kuhlman) has a great curveball, (Knapp) has a riseball and speed and (Graham) has an amazing change-up. You just covered all the pitches that we throw and I think it's going to be a successful group."

"We'll all work together with each other's strengths," Sundberg added.

Kuhlman is not expected to start any games and plays a relief role. She could start in the outfield to fill a void left by graduation.

However, she remains dangerous in the circle. She has won the MAC Pitcher of the Week once and finished last season with four wins and a save by striking out 12 of the 22 batters she faced.

"I tend to go with movement pitches," Kuhlman said. "I'm also an outfielder and I don't exactly know what spot. It's a different mentality being in the outfield and pitching. You get the ball every time pitching, but outfield you only get one or two plays a game. It's a different mentality, but I love doing both."

The lonely circle

Sundberg, Yuncker and Kuhlman all have had time in the pitching circle. The same can not be said about Graham and Knapp.

The duo doesn't have experience, but Jonker said she feels the two are ready for an opportunity to compete.

"We don't have college experience, but we've both played travel ball," Graham said. "Immaturity is a good thing sometimes. Ignorance is bliss."

Five different pitchers means extra homework for senior catcher Cory DeLamielleure, who often calls pitches behind the plate.

DeLamielleure is the undisputed leader of the team as she directs the defense, calls the pitches and can also swing the bat with consistency and power.

"This year we have more of a pitching staff. They all compliment each other because every single one of them is different," DeLamielleure said. "It feels great going into the game knowing we don't just have one pitcher to finish a game, we have four more. They'll throw a lot of batters off because they all have different speeds."

CMU has high expectations for the offense, as well.

"We feel that we should score at least five runs a game," Jonker said. "We have a lot of gap power, we don't have a lot of home run power, but that's pretty exciting. We have (Trista) Cox at third base, (CarolAnn) Sexauer at shortstop and (Chelsea) DeLamielleure at second base all have gap power. We also have Knapp and (Katelyn) Rentschler who have power, so we have a combination."

Sophomore Chelsea DeLamielleure started in 46 of 47 games two years ago when the Chippewas finished the season as MAC runner-up.

Also returning is the MAC championship game hero, Cox, who hit the walk-off home run to clinch the title.

"(Expectations) are definitely high," Cox said. "We hold ourselves high, not just because we're MAC champions, but the culture here at CMU. We know how winning the program is here under coach Jonker. It's a great program to be a part of and we have a lot of expectations for ourselves."

The team might be without experience in key positions, but it still has a plethora of experience all over the field that will make this team a handful to deal with in the MAC as it looks to make a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

"We need to be consistent," Jonker said. "We need to show that throughout the year"

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