Softballs season comes to an end at regionals
Jerry Hoffman
The Chippewas, who were making their fourth consecutive trip to regionals, fell in the opening game of NCAA Regional 6 play in Ann Arbor to Ohio State 7-0 before beating Oakland before being eliminated by top seeded Washington 4-1.
“This is one of the most difficult times of my life,” senior Becky Manson said. “Because it’s the last time that I am able to put this uniform on and play with my friends.” .
The Chippewas started Thursday against No. 20 Ohio State, but finished Friday as it was interrupted by rain twice. The game originally started at 4:30 p.m. was stopped first in the third inning of a scoreless game and postponed for four hours, 15 minutes before the game picked back up.
The game was called in the top of the third inning after freshman Natalie de la Vega doubled and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Manson. The game was called with sophomore Karly McCormack at bat with a 0-2 count on her. When the game was resumed she struck out.
After the game resumed, the Buckeyes’ Anna Smith, who is batting .519 on the season reached on a de la Vega error. CMU ace sophomore Amber Puchalski then struck out Jennifer Link and got Big 10 player of the year Wendy Allen to fly out to third.
That set the stage for catcher Stacy Roth who took Puchalski’s deliverer over the left-center wall for a 2-0 lead.
Play was then postponed till Friday in the top of the fourth with junior Sarah Hamilton at bat for the Chippewas.
Puchalski came back and pitched for the Chippewas Friday, giving up two earned runs in the fifth inning before giving way to senior Wendy Stephens. Stephens allowed three runs, two earned as Ohio State won 7-0.
Puchalski picked up the loss allowing four runs, two earned in five innings of work, her record fell to 20-6.
CMU managed four hits to the Buckeyes’ six.
The Chippewas had to turn around and play Oakland, who lost to Washington 8-0 and elinated Canisius 3-1.
CMU used four extra base hits to defeat Oakland 2-1.
Manson doubled to lead off the game, her 17th of the season, which is a new single season record for CMU, she later added her 18th.
Puchalski allowed one earned run in the bottom of the first when Megan Piar singled in Linnea Utecht.
CMU tied the game in the fourth inning after McCormack singled she and pinch runner sophomore Melissa Luplow later scored on a double by Stephens.
The game was deadlocked until the top of the seventh when CMU finally was able to push the deciding run across.
Hamilton led the inning off with a double to left field and scored when freshman Kristen Sobeck knocked an RBI stand-up tripled to right center with one out. Sobeck would be stranded at third. In all CMU stranded four runners, all on second or third base, while Oakland left six on base.
“I felt in this game that we hit the ball pretty hard; we just hit it at them,” Jonker said.
Puchalski, in her last start of the season earned the win, her 21st of the season to go with her six losses.
“I was focusing on getting ahead and staying ahead in the count,” Puchalski said. “My main focus was to get ahead so that I could throw different pitches.”.
Junior Jenni Rasmussen started the Chippewas’ third game of the day against No. 6 ranked Washington.
Rasmussen gave up 10 hits and four runs, three earned, but the Chippewas were unable to take advantage of nine runners left of base and four Washington errors. CMU was playing in its third game of the day, while Washington had more than 24 hours to rest.
“It’s very hard to do that,” Manson said. “It is something that we haven’t done. We came on strong at the end and never gave up.”.
Amanda Oleson doubled in the top of the second and later scored on a single by Courtney Jeffries. Jeffries was later thrown out at the plate by Sobeck when Megan Owen doubled to right.
CMU tied the game after Hamilton doubled to lead off the inning. She advanced to third when senior Devon Burzynski singled off the top off Kathy Fiske’s glove. De la Vega then reached on an error by the shortstop Jaime Clark that scored Hamilton and advanced Burzynksi to second. Manson then singled, but it wasn’t deep enough to let Luplow, who pinch ran for Burzynksi to score.
Senior Lindsay Horvath then struck out on an Ashley Boek change up, stranding the bases loaded.
“We had a lot of opportunities. There are things that we could have done differently to win the game and we didn’t,” Jonker said.
The Huskies manufactured a run in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead.
The Chippewas tried to comeback in the bottom of the fourth inning. When Sobeck reached on an error, she advanced to second two batters later when Manson singled, her third hit of the day. Both runners advanced a base on a past ball before Horvath struck out to end the inning.
“We played extremely well,” Manson said. “We showed from the bat that we weren’t going to lay down.”.
Washington added two more runs, one unearned in the top of the fifth, when Becky Simpson and Clark both scored.
CMU had one last chance in the bottom of the sixth when they had runners on first and second with nobody out after Stephens and Sobeck had reached on an error. Jonker, then chose to pinch run for Stephens with Danessa Wolfe. On the next pitch Wolfe was picked off at second, which ended the Chippewas’ threat.
“I haven’t had her do a lot of pinch running this season,” Jonker said. “I made a mistake, but we all make mistakes.
