COLUMN: Rounding third and heading home
Margo Jonker’s Central Michigan University softball team is now on the final home stretch of its season. There is still a chance for the women to pick up some ground in the Mid-American Conference.
With nine games remaining on the schedule, the Chippewas have managed to claw and scratch their way back above the .500 mark.
When the season began back in February, .500 softball seemed long at long shot at best.
After losing seven of their first nine games as well as senior shortstop and team leader CarolAnn Sexauer to injury, things looked bleak for the Chippewas.
Then came an eventual turning point in CMU’s season. This came following getting swept at the hands of Ball State University in the team’s first home games of the season.
After giving up nine runs in the final inning en route to a 14-7 loss and then losing 9-5 in the second game, Jonker’s team looked as if it had the confidence drained from them in a matter of minutes.
The drubbing at the hands of the Cardinals, now looking back, can and should be seen as an important turning point for the 2015 CMU Softball team.
Since that day, the Chippewas have won 11 of their previous 14 games, including a 7-3 record against opponents from within the MAC.
During that stretch they have received clutch hitting from the likes of junior Katelyn Rentschler and friends and dominating pitching efforts from the team’s young staff, anchored by sophomore Rachael Knapp.
Despite all of the early season hardships –from all of the weather-imposed cancelations, including the entire Lipscomb Tournament held in Nashville, Tenn., which was supposed to be played on the final two days of February.
After playing in Clearwater, Fla., at the USF Tournament there was an additional four games against Valparaiso and Miami (Ohio) cancelled due to the inclement early Michigan spring.
Even with all of these hiccups along the road, this team has still fought and earned a respectable 19-18 record (7-5 in MAC). Sitting in third place in the MAC west division.
Eight of the team’s final nine games will be against MAC opponents with the only exception being a single game at home against Michigan State University on April 29.
Resiliency has been a key for them for the better part of the last month. There is no reason why this cannot continue their hot streak with the MAC Tournament less than a month away.
There has already been a fair share of obstacles this team has had to face in 2015. Nothing has yet to faze them and, at this point, it is doubtful that anything will.
