Softball swept in double-header that begins eight-game homestretch
Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne was too much for the Central Michigan softball team Wednesday.
IPFW (37-11) swept CMU (21-23, 6-9 Mid-American Conference) in a double-header, winning the first game 6-4 and the second game 7-5 at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Senior infielder Molly Coldren set the CMU career RBI record with a two-run homerun in the first game. She now has 127 RBIs in her career, two more than the previous 13-year record held by Elizabeth Beshear.
The games began an eight-game home stand for CMU that will keep them at Margo Jonker Stadium until the Mid-American Conference tournament begins May 9.
Jonker said the team needs to look ahead to the weekend to establish momentum going into the conference tournament. CMU still has a chance to qualify for the tournament.
“It’s a crucial weekend for us,” Jonker said. “There are a lot of teams on the bubble — we’re one of them. So, we have to win these games to give ourselves a chance of making it.”
CMU is 1-5 in the last six games. The Chippewas have a four-game losing streak going into Friday’s double-header against Ohio (21-22, 8-6 MAC).
“We need to turn things around,” Jonker said. “The last six games we haven’t been very successful.”
The games against Ohio are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Coldren said the team is still confident enough to produce wins despite the losing streak.
“We have potential and are able to do it,” Coldren said. “Playing at home is definitely an advantage for us. I think we’ll be able to score a lot of runs.”
Coldren said the team has to play more consistent in each element of the game — hitting, defense and pitching — but mainly two of them haven’t been as consistent.
“We have to have defense and offense,” Coldren said. “They both have to be there for us to win.”
This weekend, the Chippewas also play Akron (17-25, 3-11 MAC) 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
