Softball sweeps Buffalo in home series
The CMU softball team huddles during their game against the University of Buffalo on April 7 at Margo Jonker Stadium.
It was a 23-hit fest for the Central Michigan softball team over two games on April 8 to earn two victories over Buffalo.
The Chippewas (17-15, 7-3 Mid-American Conference) took game one 7-1 and followed with a 13-5, five-inning victory in game two for a series sweep of the Bulls over the weekend at Margo Jonker Stadium.
“Maybe we should play in colder weather more often,” Jonker said. “Obviously the bats were impressive today and they did a great job hitting all the way through the lineup. We need to keep our confidence up at the plate because it will have troubles, but overall it was a great weekend for us.”
CMU continues to raise its season-high winning streak to now eight games in a row. Seven of those wins have come against MAC opponents.
Game one
Senior pitcher Hanna Warren (5-5) dominated with a season-high eight strikeouts over five innings of work to earn the win in game one.
“I was a little more elevated in the strike zone than I wanted to be today because I wasn’t getting any low calls,” Warren said. “I’m getting better at moving pitches in and out and getting outs in the field behind me as well as strikeouts.”
CMU drove in seven runs and recorded nine hits in the contest. Redshirt junior Sara Hansen and sophomore short stop Morgan Gardner led the team with two hits each while Hansen added an RBI.
The Chippewas got some offense going in the second inning when the Bulls committed errors. UB starting pitcher Alley Powers (10-11) hit back-to-back batters which led to a junior infielder Rachel Vieira RBI single. CMU would score two more runs and led 3-0.
Senior catcher Maison Kalina hit an RBI single in the third inning making it a 4-0 Chippewa advantage. CMU added two more runs in the fourth, essentially putting the game out of reach.
Game two
Buffalo got the bats moving early in the series finale, as Bulls freshman left fielder Anna Aguon hit a sacrifice fly to score a run. The Bulls led 1-0.
Hansen, however, stayed hot at the plate and this time the ballpark couldn't contain her swing.
The Mount Pleasant native hit her first home run of the 2018 season and her career as a Chippewa to tie the game. CMU regained the lead in the second inning after adding on two more runs on an RBI single from Vieira and double from junior right fielder Andrea Perlberg.
“Focusing on seeing the ball more has been the difference for me compared to mechanical things,” Hansen said. “I’ll get in slumps and question when (hitting) is actually going to come back to me, today it did and it felt good.”
The Bulls fought back in the top of the third, scoring two more runs on back-to-back doubles. The score was tied at 3-3.
Buffalo regained a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth only to see in vanish in the bottom half of the inning from Hansen, again.
She doubled over the right fielder's head to score two more runs and give CMU a 5-4 advantage. On the next pitch junior first baseman Erika Underwood added an insurance run with a double of her own to score Hansen.
CMU would go on to score seven more runs in the fourth inning and run away with the game.
Buffalo scored a run in the top of the fifth to extend the game, only to see Underwood hit her seventh home run of the season for a walk-off to win it.
The Chippewas had 13 hits and didn't commit one error. Hansen added three more RBIs to total five on the day. Junior pitcher Laura Vaccaro (4-2) earned the win for CMU.
What’s next
Following a reschedule due to weather, CMU will face Western Michigan in a double header starting at 1 p.m. April 11 at Margo Jonker Stadium. The Chippewas won the first game of the series.
Game notes
- There was 11 total hit-by-pitch trips to the plate between the two teams in the series.
- Thirteen runs is the most CMU has scored in a game this season.
