2008 Woodie Awards
Kaatz's speed drives team's offense
By: Aaron Sides
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Sports
Tracy Kaatz has made a living out of getting extra bases the hard way this season.
The junior center fielder has stolen 22 bases this season, only five shy of breaking her career mark set last season. Kaatz had three steals Sunday in Central's 9-5 win against Eastern Michigan, each of them coming after she reached base on a single.
"Someone like Tracy Kaatz puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses," said coach Margo Jonker. "She manufactures things. She gets on base and she can run."
Kaatz has been able to build her stolen base totals up quickly because no one has been able to catch her stealing. Her performance has been similar to last season, when she was only caught three times on 29 attempts.
Jonker said getting Kaatz on base and into scoring position helps drive Central's offense.
"Kaatz getting on early is big," she said. "She can really make a huge difference in the game."
It was in high school that Kaatz said she first started developing herself into a speedy base stealer. She said her coach at Richmond High School, Howard Stuart, recognized her speed and switched her from a right-handed hitter to a left-handed slap hitter to better capitalize on her quickness.
Kaatz said what she does on the base paths can really help to spark the offense and get the team's bats going.
"It gets the team fired up if I can get on and steal second," she said. "My role is to get on base anyway possible."
Mowing down the MAC
While offense won Sunday's game for CMU, pitching and defense carried the Chippewas on Saturday. Sophomore pitcher Kari Seddon threw a complete game shutout in CMU's 2-0 win.
Seddon, now 5-6 on the season, is undefeated with a 0.00 earned run average in Mid-American Conference play. Her shutout win on Sunday was her second straight and second of her career.
"She took a little while to get going, but she pitched really well," Jonker said. "She was exceptional in the middle innings."
With eight strikeouts and only two walks in Saturday's game, Seddon said that she felt she had good control over her pitches throughout the game.
"I was getting good spin on the ball and (catcher) Ellen (Venker) did a good job of framing," she said. "There was a few pitches I left up over the plate, though."
After an up-and-down start to the season, Seddon has been able to get on track with three straight wins. She said the play of the defense has been a big part of her wins and that she needs to concentrate on keeping her pitches moving.
"I need to keep focused on getting ahead in the count," she said. "I've got a lot of confidence right now."
sports@cm-life.com
The junior center fielder has stolen 22 bases this season, only five shy of breaking her career mark set last season. Kaatz had three steals Sunday in Central's 9-5 win against Eastern Michigan, each of them coming after she reached base on a single.
"Someone like Tracy Kaatz puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses," said coach Margo Jonker. "She manufactures things. She gets on base and she can run."
Kaatz has been able to build her stolen base totals up quickly because no one has been able to catch her stealing. Her performance has been similar to last season, when she was only caught three times on 29 attempts.
Jonker said getting Kaatz on base and into scoring position helps drive Central's offense.
"Kaatz getting on early is big," she said. "She can really make a huge difference in the game."
It was in high school that Kaatz said she first started developing herself into a speedy base stealer. She said her coach at Richmond High School, Howard Stuart, recognized her speed and switched her from a right-handed hitter to a left-handed slap hitter to better capitalize on her quickness.
Kaatz said what she does on the base paths can really help to spark the offense and get the team's bats going.
"It gets the team fired up if I can get on and steal second," she said. "My role is to get on base anyway possible."
Mowing down the MAC
While offense won Sunday's game for CMU, pitching and defense carried the Chippewas on Saturday. Sophomore pitcher Kari Seddon threw a complete game shutout in CMU's 2-0 win.
Seddon, now 5-6 on the season, is undefeated with a 0.00 earned run average in Mid-American Conference play. Her shutout win on Sunday was her second straight and second of her career.
"She took a little while to get going, but she pitched really well," Jonker said. "She was exceptional in the middle innings."
With eight strikeouts and only two walks in Saturday's game, Seddon said that she felt she had good control over her pitches throughout the game.
"I was getting good spin on the ball and (catcher) Ellen (Venker) did a good job of framing," she said. "There was a few pitches I left up over the plate, though."
After an up-and-down start to the season, Seddon has been able to get on track with three straight wins. She said the play of the defense has been a big part of her wins and that she needs to concentrate on keeping her pitches moving.
"I need to keep focused on getting ahead in the count," she said. "I've got a lot of confidence right now."
sports@cm-life.com
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