Softball heads for South Florida Tournament
Sometimes a little bit of extra rest at the beginning of the season is not such a bad thing.
Such is the case with Central Michigan University’s softball team.
The Liscomb Tournament, in Nashville, Tenn., was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It was supposed to be a two-day, four-game tournament to close out February for the Chippewas.
CMU's last game was against Seton Hall University on Feb. 15., resulting in a 7-4 Chippewas win. Now, the women have gone nearly three weeks without playing a game, as they head into the University of South Florida Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. this weekend.
Head Coach Margo Jonker said the extra amount of time off will be beneficial to her team as they prepare to travel south.
“Having the time off allowed some people who were injured and sick at that time to get healthy,” Jonker said. “Obviously you want to play games because you get to know your team better and you get a team identity.”
Jonker said the Chippewas are still searching for their identity.
“In my opinion we still don’t have our team identity for the year," she said. "By the end of Florida we should have a pretty good what the team identity is.”
CMU, which brings a 2-7 record into the tournament, is looking to start its first winning streak of the season. Jonker was not pleased with CMU's performance to start the season.
“Being below .500 is not acceptable in my view,” she said. “If everybody’s healthy then I think we are a much better team than (a 2-7 record)."
After losing their first six games to start the season, CMU enters this weekend's tournament having won two of its last three.
CMU will play 12 games in a span of eight days against 10 different schools from across the nation, including Big Ten opponent Wisconsin.
“Because you’re playing so many different teams in one week, it’s a challenge getting to know them,” Jonker said. “Wisconsin is certainly the best as far as last year’s record is concerned. Not because of the conference they’re in, but because they were very good last year.”
Stamina will be key for CMU during the student athletes' spring break, Jonker said.
“It’s a typical softball spring trip and we don’t have anything else to concern ourselves with,” she said. “No academics and the weather is good. It’s easier to play in warm weather than cold.”
Leading the way offensively for the Chippewas has been senior shortstop CarolAnn Sexauer.
Through the first nine games of the season, Sexauer has a batting average of .379 and 11 hits.
Another early source of offense for CMU has been junior second baseman Chelsea DeLamielleure. The St. Clair Shores native leads her team in slugging and on-base percent at .636 and .423 respectively.
The women will begin the USF Tournament at 4:15 pm against North Florida University on Friday.
