Softball enters final series, drops opener to Ohio 7-1
Clarkston freshman Abbey Tolmie hits the ball during the Chippewa's game against Buffalo April 24 in Margo Jonker Stadium.
After three months, 35 Mid-American Conference games and five trips out of state, Central Michigan softball returned home for the final time this season.
In the first game of the final series to the season, CMU (17-28, 15-20) struggled offensively, leading to a 7-1 defeat against Ohio (21-23, 17-18).
"Our goals overall don't change going into the final series; stay consistent, work to win every inning, work ahead of batters in the circle and at the plate stay loose and calm and swing at strikes," said head coach McCall Salmon. "That was our same approach today, Ohio made the big plays when they needed to make them, but we didn't make them in a couple different situations and unfortunately our offense couldn't get going."
Key moments
CMU's performance in the box was a blend of calm and aggressive, connecting pitches to bats, but the Chippewas could only piece together four complete hits for the game.
"We knew we were hitting hard; we had some great barrels and (Ohio pitcher Makenzie Kohl) only struck us out two times," Salmon said. "We just keep telling them to have calm eyes in the box and work to make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat and I felt at times through our lineup we started to do that."
Senior Pitcher Cloe Mallory started in the circle for the Chippewas, striking out two in her four innings of work.
Ohio added its first two runs in the top of the third, capitalizing on a pair of singles and a walk for loaded bases. A third single reached, and an error at first base allowed two Bobcats to make the journey home. A sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth made for a 3-0 advantage over the Chippewas, who had consistently found themselves leaving the bases loaded.
Kaitlyn Bean stepped in for Mallory for the final three frames, keeping Ohio at bay for the fifth and sixth innings. Bobcats infielder Caroline Spacek ripped a triple to left center to open the seventh frame, scoring on a sacrifice fly. Ohio followed up with three more runs, finishing the day with a total of seven.
The Chippewas added their only run in the final frame when Shannon Stein ripped a double down the left field line. Caitlyn Britton kept calm through two strikes and found a single to right field to bring Stein in. Kelsey Alexander followed suit with another single, but was put out in double play on Skylar Coberley's line-out to close the game.
Key Stats
Mallory's four innings in the circle totaled for two strikeouts, four hits and one earned run.
Bean closed the game with a strikeout, a walk, and four runs on five hits.
Kohl put in a full seven frames for Ohio, allowing four hits and one run for two strikeouts.
Up Next
The Chippewas and the Bobcats will return to Margo Jonker Stadium for a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. on May 15.
