CMU softball goes 0-5 at South Florida Tournament
The struggles continued for CMU softball going 0-5 in South Florida over the weekend, getting beat by Georgia Southern, Villanova, Louisville, University of Southern Florida and Florida Gulf Coast.
The Chippewas fell to 1-14 overall on the season.
Game 1
Central Michigan put up a good fight but ended up losing to Georgia Southern 3-2 on Friday.
Georgia Southern got on the board first with a run bottom of the first. Redshirt senior second baseman Skylar Coberley tied the score at one with a single, scoring freshman catcher Carly Sleeman in the top of the third.
The Eagles came back with a two run fourth inning to make the score 3-1. Sleeman hit a solo home run to cut the lead to one in the fifth but the Chippewas couldn’t muster anymore runs in the last two innings.
Senior pitcher Grace Lehto started the game and went five innings giving up three runs, two of them being earned.
Sleeman went 1-2 with a home run and scored the only two runs for CMU.
Game 2
The Central Michigan offense had trouble getting anything going in the second game of the tournament as it got beat by Villanova 10-0 in five innings.
The Wildcats got off to a big start as they scored six runs in the first inning. They quickly added two in the second and a single run in both the third and fourth inning.
The Chippewas couldn’t muster a run in the fifth inning and ended the game due to the mercy rule.
Junior pitcher Madelyn Wallace started the game on the mound but couldn't retire a batter as she gave up three runs.
Coberley collected the only hit for CMU in the loss.
Game 3
Central Michigan lost the third game of the weekend to Louisville 7-2, collecting three hits to the Cardinals 13.
Louisville got on the board quickly with a two spot in the bottom of the second with an RBI double and single.
The Chippewas responded with two runs of their own as senior right fielder Michaleigh Vallimont singled in both freshman third baseman Keira Tolmie and sophomore pinch runner Angela Petrovitch in the top of the third inning.
Louisville responded with a single run in the bottom of the third to take back the lead. The Cardinals were not done yet as they added two in the fourth and two in the sixth to win the game 7-2.
Lehto was on the mound and went five innings giving up all seven runs on 12 hits with four strikeouts.
Game 4
Central Michigan lost its fourth game of the weekend to the University of South Florida 3-0 as the offense was quiet.
USF got a quick run in the first followed by two more in the fifth and sixth inning. Central Michigan couldn’t respond at the plate, leading to the loss.
Freshman pitcher Brooklyn Compau began the game in the circle and went three innings only surrendering one earned run.
Sleeman collected the only hit for the Chippewas in the loss.
Game 5
CMU came out slow in the last game of the weekend as it dropped the finale 7-3 to Florida Gulf Coast University.
FGCU got out to an early lead with four runs in the first inning. FGCU added two in the second and one in the third to make the score 7-0.
The comeback attempt started in the fifth with a double by freshman third baseman Grace Koenig that scored sophomore first baseman Bryn Elsenpeter.
After not scoring in the sixth, senior center fielder Abbey Tolmie singled in freshman pinch hitter Rachel Cairo and Elsenpeter to make the score 7-3.
The comeback fell short as the Chippewas couldn’t get anymore runs as they lost to FGCU.
Grace Letho went two innings for Central Michigan giving up five runs, three of them being earned.
In the loss, Abbey Tolmie recorded her 200th career hit as a Chippewa, ending the game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs
Central Michigan will be back in action for their spring games in Madeira Springs Florida with five games in three days, starting on Thursday before the home opener March 15th against Northern Illinois University.
