Softball goes 3-2, shows off their bats at Cardinal Classic
Softball won't worry about scoring runs after this weekend.
Central Michigan finished the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky., 3-2. On Friday, the Chippewas won both games, beating Northern Kentucky 12-2 before edging out Eastern Kentucky in a close 6-5 game.
The next day, CMU lost two games, 3-0 to Eastern Kentucky and 3-2 to Louisville. The Chippewas closed the tournament by defeating Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 15-6.
In the final game of the tournament against IUPUI, the Chippewas offense responded by bouncing back at the plate. The Chippewas, scored a season-high 15 runs.
Sophomore right fielder Evelyn Lorimer and freshman pitcher Rachael Knapp stepped up all weekend. Lorimer batted .421 with two home runs, tallying six runs batted in, and seven runs scored.
“Its really exciting. It was totally a team event and the weekend had a great atmosphere,” Lorimer said. “I just tried to stay focused at the plate. I was really relaxed this weekend.”
Knapp appeared in three games this weekend, holding her opponents to a .220 batting average, and came away with a 1.02 ERA.
“Rachael is really coming along as a player,” said head coach Margo Jonker. "We haven’t even begun to see the tip of the iceberg.”
She is now 2-1 on the season.
“I try to get ahead of the batters and get ground balls," Knapp said. "Whenever I come in, I just want to do well and help the team.”
The Chippewa offense was in rhythm in the first two games, hitting .407 as a team. They defeated Northern Kentucky by mercy, winning 12-2 in five innings.
Lorimer went 3-for-3 with a triple, home run, and a walk, personally accounting for seven runs. Junior shortstop CarolAnn Sexauer broke out as well, hitting 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
Senior pitcher Morgan Yuncker went all five innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits.
CMU's second game was closer, but the team came away with a win, defeating Eastern Kentucky 6-5. Again, Lorimer and Sexauer were standouts. Lorimer went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs, while Sexauer went 2-for-3, homering for the second-straight game.
This time the home run meant more.
CMU allowed two runs in the top of the fifth, which put the team down 5-4.
The Chippewas immediately responded with the tying run in scoring position after sophomore second baseman Chelsea DeLamielleure led the inning off with a double.
Sexauer stepped to the plate and gave the Chippewas exactly what they needed, delivering a clutch two-run homer.
Sexauer’s belt gave CMU the lead for good, as Knapp shut down Eastern Kentucky the rest of the way at the plate.
The next two games, CMU’s hitters struggled. Batting just .235 in the two losses, the Chippewas were only able to push two runs across the plate. In their 3-0 loss to Eastern Kentucky, CMU managed just one hit, a second-inning single from DeLamielleure.
CMU (8-6) continues its season next week at the USF Under Armour Showcase in Clearwater, Fla. It will be a lengthy trip for the Chippewas, as they play 13 games in 10 days.
