Courtesy: Tim Fitzgerald/CMU Athletics

The Central Michigan infield meets for a meeting in the circle during Wednesday's doubleheader against IPFW. The Chippewas will play four MAC games in three days at Margo Jonker Stadium this weekend.

QUICK LINKS

Ohio (21-24, 8-6 Mid-American) at Central Michigan (21-24, 6-9 Mid-American)
Friday, April 27, 1 p.m. (DH), Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
Staff Appreciation Day
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

Akron (19-26-1, 3-11 Mid-American) at Central Michigan
Alumnae Day
Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m., Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

Sunday, April 29, 1 p.m., Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Margo Jonker Stadium)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

Preview
The Central Michigan softball team returns to Mid-American Conference action after taking a break for a mid-week meeting with IPFW on Wednesday. The Chippewas will host MAC East Division opponents Ohio on Friday in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., followed by a pair of games over the weekend with Akron. The weekend games will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. CMU enters this week's games third in the MAC West Division and sits seventh overall in the conference.

The Bobcats enter Friday's contest claiming five out of their last six games. They were able to sweep both Northern Illinois and Dayton, while splitting a homestand with Western Michigan last week. Alexis Joseph is currently fifth in conference games with a .425 batting average. She has 17 hits during MAC action with one being a double. Jillian Van Wagnen, who leads the team with an overall batting average of .380, is fifth in the MAC in hits, averaging 1.36 per game. Seeing most of the team's action in the circle is Lauren McClary. She has a team-low 3.28 ERA and has recorded 171 strikeouts in 175 innings.

The Zips will face Eastern Michigan on Friday in a doubleheader in hopes of keeping their four-game winning streak alive. UA claimed two twinbill wins last week over Northern Illinois and Saint Francis (Pa.). Alissa Birkhimer is currently tied for third in RBI during conference games with 15. She also leads the team with an overall .379 batting average and a team-high 38 RBI this season. UA has thrown five different pitchers this year, but Brittany Maurer has toed the rubber for the bulk of the action. She has a 3.99 ERA and has given up 236 hits in 209.2 innings of work.

Team Comparison
2.90	ERA	5.09	4.43
.262	Avg. Against	.253	.287
.269	Batting Avg.	.285	.307
.375	Slugging Pct.	.416	.423
181	Runs Scored	226	197
53	Stolen Bases	55	110

Storylines

Coldren Breaks Record -- Molly Coldren became the Chippewas' all-time RBI leader following a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth in game one on Wednesday. She now has 127 career RBI placing her in front of CMU Hall of Fame member Elizabeth Barnes who held the record of 125 set from 1996-99. Coldren currently sits third in all-time RBI among MAC players as well.

Another record that Coldren has her eyes on is the single-season home run record. She currently has 11, which ties her for second with a record she set in 2010. Last year she set a new single season home run record at 14. For her career she has 39 long balls, placing her third in MAC history, and is nine away from reaching second place (Jenny Scerer from EMU had 48). Coldren has recorded four home runs in the last seven games.

Coldren is also currently fourth in CMU history in career runs scored with 123.

MAC Standings -- The Chippewas are 6-9 in MAC play. Currently CMU is third in the MAC West and seventh overall, but look to move up in the standings after the weekend series with Ohio and Akron.

MAC Rankings (April 24) -- Macy Merchant holds the fourth-best batting average among all MAC players at .384 and holds the fifth-most hits at 53. Molly Coldren, who recorded her 11th home run of the season Wednesday against IPFW, is third in the long ball category, third in slugging percentage (.700), sixth in RBI (35) and ninth in batting average (.367). Kara Dornbos holds the seventh-best overall ERA at 2.72 and is tied for third with four shutouts.

In MAC games, Dornbos has the seventh-lowest ERA at 2.84. Merchant is sixth in hits with 18, while CarolAnn Sexauer is tied for fourth with five doubles. Coldren has four league home runs placing her tied for fourth.

Multiple Hits -- This season three Chippewas have recorded 10 or more multiple hit games, as Macy Merchant leads the way with 15. CarolAnn Sexauer has had 11 multiple hit games with Molly Coldren recording 10.

Darwin Shows Power -- Brogan Darwin has started the past seven games for CMU. Since entering the lineup as a starter, she is batting .389 with seven hits and four RBI. Those four RBI came in the second game against IFW, in which she went 2-for-2 with a three-run home run.

Dornbos Blows By -- In Kara Dornbos' last seven starts she has recorded four or more strikeouts five times, including six against IPFW and No. 20 Michigan. On the season she has retired 44.3 percent of the batters on three pitches or less, while in 42 of her 131.2 innings pitched she has had three up, three down.

Touch ‘Em All Tidbits --

• CMU is 12-1 when scoring more than six runs and 18-6 when it produces three or more runs.
• CMU is...
  • 11-4 when scoring in the first inning
  • 16-5 when scoring first
  • 18-5 when out-hitting the opponent
  • 3-18 when scoring under two runs
• The Chippewas are 18-3 when leading after four innings, 15-2 when leading after five and 14-1 when leading after six.

NCAA Rankings (April 22) -- The Chippewas are 38th currently in the country averaging .37 double plays per game; they have turned 16 this season and are 76th in stolen bases per game, averaging 1.16.

Individually Macy Merchant is 95th in batting average at .384, while Kara Dornbos is 71st in saves with two. Molly Coldren is 65th in slugging percentage at .700 and 83rd in home runs per game (.23).