Softball rides six-game win streak into home opener
After starting the season on a five-game losing skid, the Central Michigan softball team will head into its home opener Wednesday riding a six-game win streak.
Head coach Margo Jonker said her team has been on top of their game lately because they are playing together, and they want to make even more improvements to that playing style.
“We’ve worked really hard this week at practice and have talked about what we need to do this week to get even better than we were on the spring break trip,” Jonker said. “The reason we did good on the trip was because we played team softball and the players did a great job playing for each other and the program so that’s what we need to keep doing.”
Due to weather, CMU play Oakland at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at Jonker Stadium for only one game rather than the originally scheduled double header.
The Chippewas' last game was a 4-2 win against USF on March 11, giving them 10 days off.
After the contest against the Golden Grizzles, CMU will begin Mid-American Conference play against Bowling Green with one game starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, and double-header against the Falcons starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
CMU (14-7) has averaged just over five and a half runs in the last six games while its opponents are only averaging 2 runs per game.
A big part of their opponents offensive struggles is junior senior pitcher Rachel Knapp, who now has has a 8-3 record and 1.85 earned run average, which is good for third in the MAC in both categories.
In the last six games, Knapp struck out 34 batters, earned three wins, added one save and pitched two complete games in 20 innings of work. She now has 110 strikeouts, 82 of them on swinging third strikes, which is good for second in the conference.
“It all starts with how much confidence I have in our defense and our offense right now,” Knapp said. “I know if a pitch goes by and it ends up being a home run or something like that, I know my defense will have my back and the offense to because they will get that run I allowed right back.”
As far as this week goes, Knapp says her and the team are just ready to play a game again after the period of time they have went without action.
“I think we really just need to get back on the field and play again to keep it going,” the St. Joseph native said. “We had a week or so off from Florida and now we are back to Michigan weather, so just accumulating back to that and getting into MAC play.”
Jonker said that the growth of Knapp has really been a big part of Knapp’s success on the mound through the season thus far.
“I believe Rachel Knapp is a great pitcher and I’ve believed that all along,” Jonker said of the 5-foot-7 right-handed pitcher. “This year she seems to be pitching with a lot more confidence and maturity. Did I think she could do this, yes I did, she's another who isn't just a great player but is a great person.”
Oakland (7-9) will come to Margo Jonker Stadium on a six-game losing streak. The Golden Grizzles are 0-3 in true road games so far this season. As for BGSU (14-16), they are sliding down a four-game losing slope, and are 2-8 on the road this season.
Jonker thinks the team play will be key for her team this week and will also make it difficult on their opponents.
“I think the team does have confidence and we did a lot of things over this trip, it wasn't just one person that came through but rather a lot of people who came through offensively for us,” Jonker said. “It helps because I don’t think our opposing teams can really focus on one person and they have to look at all of us. Im excited that we are playing team softball, because when you play as a team, you can overcome a lot of things.”
