Marshall University Athletics
No. 2 Central Michigan Hands Softball First MAC Tournament Loss
5/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
No. 2 Central Michigan Hands Softball First MAC Tournament Loss
5/13/2005
- Box Score
Marshall will need to win two games tomorrow to capture the MAC Tournament crown. |
AKRON, Ohio ? No. 2 Central Michigan constructed five runs on 12 hits to take down No. 1 Marshall, 5-2, on Friday night in the semi-finals of the Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament at Firestone Stadium.
A Kristen Dhondt double made its way over the right field fence and her pinch-runner ultimately scored on a Lindsey Calme single down the line to give Marshall its first deficit of the tournament.
Sam Rodriguez (Oakley, Calif.) doubled to start off the third. Sara Spenia (Las Vegas, Nev.) moved Rodriguez?s pinch-runner, Ashley Mitchell (Kennesaw, Ga.), to third via a sacrifice bunt and a Dee Tourville (Rescue, Calif.) groundout sent Mitchell home for a 1-1 score.
First Team All-MAC selection Amy Hudson singled to start off the fourth for CMU before moving to second on a sac bunt. After a walk registered by Herd starter Randi Nielson (Tucson, Ariz.), Brittany Decker singled to left to give CMU the 2-1 lead.
A base hit off the glove of diving MU shortstop Jessica Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.) brought home the Chippewas second run of the inning and a two-run cushion.
Junior Courtney Kacenga (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) chopped that lead in half with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to move the score to 3-2.
The Herd had a chance to tie up the game in the bottom of the sixth. After turning a double play to get out of the fifth, MU got a pair of base runners by a walk and a Tourville single but CMU starter Jill DeRoche was able to get the Chippewas out of the frame.
Abigail Harter (Monmouth, Ore.) came in for relief in the seventh inning. After a Karen Hohs line drive shot off of third baseman Leigh Wintter?s (Acworth, Ga.) glove and just past a diving J. Williams, she landed on second and scored off a Jacque Benedict single and an error in the Herd outfield. A pair of wild pitches got Benedict to third with still no outs. A Giroux single up the middle would score Benedict and give the Chippewas the final three-run lead.
MAC Tournament play resumes Saturday morning as No. 1 Marshall faces No. 2 Central Michigan in a semi-final replay of Friday night's game. Each squad has one loss and faces elimination in Saturday morning's 10 a.m. contest with another defeat. Awaiting the winner is No. 3 Miami in the championship game who has not dropped a contest thus far in the tournament.
Stay logged onto www.herdzone.com for all of the latest information on the Marshall softball team and its final bid for a MAC Tournament Championship.