Softball opens Mid-American Conference play against Western Michigan, Northern Illinois
Central Michigan softball will begin Mid-American Conference play with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Friday against Western Michigan in Kalamazoo.
“We need everyone to pick up their game a little bit and the team will pick it up a great amount,” CMU head coach Margo Jonker said of her team entering conference play.
The Broncos stumbled out of the gates this year, losing their first 10 games against non-conference opponents. WMU went 3-6 in the USF Under Armour Invitational, while CMU finished 7-3 in the same tournament.
“Western has been struggling but then they knocked off Notre Dame,” Jonker said. “Western is all about beating the Chippewas. They’re a well-coached team that has a lot of pride.”
WMU welcomes CMU with momentum after the win over Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Irish held the nation's fifth-longest home winning streak (21 games) before the Broncos won 3-2 in South Bend, Ind.
NIU
Saturday, the Chippewas will go to DeKalb, Ill. to face Northern Illinois (10-14) at 2 p.m. and again Sunday at 1 p.m.
“Northern Illinois has struggled a little also but I anticipate them being on top of their game,” Jonker said.
The Irish beat NIU 4-1 on March 25 but, like CMU, the Huskies have had their share of canceled games with three.
NIU enters play Friday with the third-best team batting average in MAC play at .309. WMU (5-18) currently holds the league-worst average at .189.
To the Chippewa players, though, it doesn’t matter who they’re playing, they focus on their game.
“We focus on Chippewa softball,” said sophomore pitcher Kara Dornbos, who's 4-3 on the season. “Coach stresses as long as we play our game it doesn’t matter what uniform we’re playing.”
The fact that they’re playing conference games now does matter though.
“I’m very excited — this is my last go around,” said senior pitcher Kari Seddon, who's 4-4. “It’s very exciting that conference play is starting.”
Seddon and Dornbos anchor a pitching staff for CMU that has been top performers in the MAC, boasting a league-best 1.79 ERA.
Both WMU and NIU pitching staffs have struggled this year. The Broncos' team ERA is 5.20 (ninth in MAC), while NIU’s 5.54 ERA is second to last in the league.
The Chippewas (13-9) enter conference play with the second-best record in the MAC West Division, behind Eastern Michigan. WMU is last, while NIU is third in the MAC West.
Friday, the Broncos will likely pitch Kayla Houston (3-8), who has a team-best 3.75 ERA. She has thrown eight complete games while allowing a .262 opponent batting average.
“We’ve had a good mix (of non-conference games),” Dornbos said. “We normally come in prepared for MAC play.”
