After a month of chaos that sent Mid-American Conference (MAC) softball opponents all over the country in pursuit of warmer weather and hot starts to the season, the narratives have been set ahead of the start of conference play on Friday, March 14, when 10 of the 11 teams will open up MAC play.
To pick apart nearly 200 games of action across nearly 20 states, the 11 teams will be separated into three categories: Teams who have exceeded expectations, met expectations, and fell short of expectations by taking into account strength of schedule, 2024 accomplishments, notable performers and other factors to determine where each team sits going into conference play.
Exceeded Expectations
Ohio Bobcats (16-6)
Big wins: 9-0 at George Mason, 18-14 vs UConn, 15-2 at College of Charleston
Tough losses: 12-8 at Arizona, 17-1 vs Cal State Fullerton, 2-1 at Lipscomb
Despite being picked as the MAC champions in the 2025 preseason poll, Ohio has impressed by dominating its opening schedule, taking a losing record in only one of its five tournaments and going undefeated in two, going 4-0 at both the Elon Softball Classic and the George Mason Tournament.
However, their 16-6 record can be attributed to a lighter schedule, as only three of their 16 victories came against opponents with a winning record, a category that they are 3-4 against.
On the bright side, the Bobcats have won the games they should have, going 13-2 against opponents with a losing record.
Ohio pitching has been all that it was cracked up to be in 2025, leading the MAC with a 3.13 team earned-run average (ERA) while throwing the second-most innings out of any team with 145.1.
Redshirt junior Skipp Miller threw a no-hitter in Ohio’s win over Longwood in a George Mason Tournament where the Bobcats gave up only two runs in a four-game span, riding fantastic outings from freshman Anna Wise and sophomore Mikie Lieving, who are second and fourth in the MAC in ERA respectively.
Head coach Jenna Hall was one victory away from an appearance in the 2024 MAC championship game, and her Bobcats are favorites to make that dream happen in 2025.
Akron Zips (12-11)
Big wins: 2-1 vs Michigan State, 2-0 at USC Upstate, 7-2 vs Bowling Green
Tough losses: 11-0 vs Omaha, 3-2 vs Cleveland State, 3-0 at Incarnate Word
After a mediocre seventh-place season that failed to get the Zips into the MAC Tournament, the squad was predicted to do the same in 2025, yet the team is 12-11 and third in the standings going into conference play.‘
Akron has generally played up to competition, splitting a two-game series with USC Upstate (21-4) and shutting out the fourth-best offense in NCAA Division I in game two on the back of seven shutout innings from freshman pitcher Maddelynn Lee. The Zips also managed a 2-1 victory over the Big Ten’s Michigan State Spartans (7-9) on six innings of stellar pitching from sophomore Madie Jamrog.
After being redshirted in 2024, Jamrog has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the MAC with a 2.54 ERA in one out shy of 50 innings that included four outings of at least six innings with no more than one earned run.
Akron is third-best in both ERA and batting average against within the MAC with their pitching staff that features three pitchers with at least 30 innings and an ERA under 4.4.
Bowling Green Falcons (5-15)
Big wins: 9-4 vs Tulsa, 9-1 vs Monmouth, 7-2 vs IU Indy
Tough losses: 8-5 at #1 Oklahoma, 8-7 vs UConn, 6-5 vs Wisconsin
Head coach Michelle Gardner has seemed to revitalize a Falcon team that is one victory away from eclipsing their 2024 win total, as an offense that had the worst batting average in the MAC by over points has improved by nearly 30 points and holds three hitters in the top 10 of the MAC OPS ranking.
Redshirt freshman Addie Martin has stormed onto the scene after missing all but the first eight games of 2024 due to injury, tying herself for second-most home runs in the MAC with seven in 20 games and a 1.098 OPS that is fifth in the conference.
Designated player Katie Hutter and second baseman Hannah Hunt have complimented Martin perfectly at the top of the lineup, both hitting well above .360 on 23 combined RBIs.
Pitcher Scarlet Anderson is making the most of her senior season, hoisting a 3.61 ERA that was boosted by 11.2 innings of scoreless softball at the Hoosier Classic on the second weekend of March.
The Falcons have beaten the teams they needed to beat, winning two games over Monmouth and one each against UIC and IU Indy on top of an upset win over the Tulsa Hurricanes that came only a couple of hours after BG nearly upset the #1 Oklahoma Sooners (22-0), taking them to eight innings before being walked off for a final score of 8-5.
Suffering from a tough schedule, a team that was predicted to finish last in the MAC has shown that their ceiling is much higher than that as they soar into conference play.
Met Expectations
Ball State Cardinals (13-6)
Big wins: 4-1 vs Oregon State, 14-6 at Evansville, 12-3 at Stonehill
Tough losses: 9-8 at Charlotte, 4-3 at Middle Tennessee, 7-5 at Northern Iowa
Contrary to the Falcons, whose schedule hasn’t done their record any favors, the Cardinals have benefitted from a favorable schedule, with the Cardinals’ most impressive victories coming against the Evansville Purple Aces (12-11) at the Bellarmine Invitational.
Ball State has only beaten one team over .500 and fallen victim to losses in winnable games, such as in a 1-3 MTSU Invitational that featured a 3-0 loss to Illinois State (6-17) and two losses to the Blue Raiders (9-14).
Redshirt senior McKayla Timmons has been the leader of a Cardinal offense that is the best in the MAC, as she will surely be awarded her third straight year on the All-MAC First Team by leading the MAC.
Timmons leads the MAC in nearly every offensive category while being top 15 in Division I with a .510 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage and top five in the country with a .662 on-base percentage.
The Cardinals also hold the second-best team ERA in the conference behind MAC Pitcher of the Year contender Ella Whitney, who has managed a 1.62 ERA through 60.2 innings and is on an insane hot streak, heaving back-to-back outings of seven innings and one earned run before a six-inning shutout performance against Stonehill on March 9.
Kent State Golden Flashes (7-16)
Big wins: 8-7 vs Saint Joseph’s, 10-9 vs UMass, 7-6 vs East Tennessee State (11 innings)
Tough losses: 15-6 at North Carolina, 6-4 vs Troy, 15-1 vs #2 Texas
Kent State has shown much of what was expected of them before the season, finding seven wins in a sea of tough defeats against bigger schools, being outscored by opponents in power four conferences 72-18.
The Flashes have troubled in the pitching circle, throwing a 7.83 team ERA that is 274th in Division I and dead last in the MAC.
Their offense, led by senior Delaney Robeson, has kept them afloat with her 31 hits on the year that lead the MAC, boosting an offense that is top five in the MAC in batting average behind consistency throughout the lineup.
Central Michigan Chippewas (7-12)
Big wins: 4-2 vs Northwestern, 8-0 vs Tennessee State, 13-4 vs Niagara
Tough losses: 13-9 at Louisville, 6-5 at NC State, 7-6 vs Siena
The Chippewas were predicted to finish fifth by MAC coaches ahead of the season, and they sit one spot above that in fourth at a 7-12 record.
CMU has played better than their record entails by staying close in a majority of their losses, losing by more than five runs in only one game. Their resume includes a 4-2 victory over Northwestern (9-9) at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, in which sophomore Brooklyn Compau threw seven innings, allowing only two earned runs.
A balanced approach has favored Central Michigan early on in the year, with an offense in the top three in the conference and a pitching staff that sits in the top six. Sophomore Carly Sleeman is regarded as the second-best hitter in the MAC, only behind Timmons statistically, hitting .403 with a 1.295 OPS and a .823 slugging percentage.
Northern Illinois Huskies (5-12)
Big wins: 11-3 vs Montana, 4-0 vs Central Arkansas, 3-2 at Lindenwood (eight innings)
Tough losses: 6-0 vs #25 Ole Miss, 6-4 vs Wisconsin, 6-0 vs Saint Louis
NIU has had a rough start, especially in the last few games, losing six of their last seven in tournaments in Illinois and Missouri.
The team played close games against Big Ten foe Wisconsin and got wins over solid teams such as Lindenwood and Central Arkansas, but they’ve struggled mightily from the plate, registering a .231 batting average that is the worst in the MAC by 22 points.
Over the last 11 games, the Huskies have only scored 14 runs, being shut out four times. The team has scored over five runs only once in an 11-3 win over Montana on Feb. 7.
Seniors Madison Mathews and Jenna Turner have been the leaders of an offense that lacks real depth, hitting .346 and .333 from the plate, respectively, in 106 combined at-bats.
Failed to Meet Expectations
Miami (OH) RedHawks (8-14)
Big wins: 8-0 vs Michigan State, 12-4 at Arizona State, 9-6 vs Appalachian State (11 innings)
Tough losses: 12-2 at #9 South Carolina, 7-1 vs #21 Ole Miss, 10-2 vs St. Thomas
The 2024 MAC champions have struggled early on in the year, mostly due to a schedule that is by far the toughest in the conference, playing 13 games against opponents in the Power Four conferences, the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12.
These games account for 11 of their 14 total losses, with the others coming in two losses to St. Thomas (14-7) and one to Georgia State (8-17).
The RedHawk offense has thrived despite the tough opponents, however, leading the MAC with a slugging percentage that’s near .500 and 29 home runs, a total that is 10 higher than Ball State’s 19 in second place. 2023 MAC Player of the Year and senior Jenna Golembiewski leads the MAC with eight home runs, holding a .329 batting average and a 1.158 OPS going into conference play.
Golembiewski’s pursuit of her third straight appearance on the All-MAC First Team coincides with the RedHawks’ pursuit of back-to-back MAC titles, and despite their tough record, they still stand as one of the favorites to compete for the crown in May.
Toledo Rockets (5-14)
Big wins: 1-0 vs Providence, 8-1 vs Saint Francis (PA), 13-0 vs Merrimack
Tough losses: 16-14 at UNC Greensboro, 13-0 at Florida Atlantic, 8-1 vs Lehigh
After starting off the season 5-1, the Rockets have dropped 13 in a row despite a light schedule, failing to score more than one run in nine of their last 11, scoring 14 combined runs in that stint, with nearly half of those runs coming in a 10-6 loss at Florida International on March 1.
Even after blowing out the lower competition and outsourcing their opponents 64-35 in their first nine games at opening tournaments in the Carolinas, the Rockets haven’t even scored a fourth of that in their last 11, getting swept by teams like Lehigh (7-13), Florida Gulf Coast (13-18), and Florida International (19-8) and losing winnable games to Columbia (4-6), Eastern Illinois (10-13), and Saint Francis (PA) (7-13).
The Rockets have greatly missed the presence of senior shortstop Eli Enriquez, who hasn’t played since their 16-14 loss to UNC Greensboro. Enriquez had a .536 batting average and an OPS over 1.200, but Toledo hasn’t won a game since she was last in the lineup.
On the bright side, Toledo holds the fourth-best pitching staff in the MAC, led by senior Sophia Knight, who has a 2.80 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 60 innings for the Rockets.
Toledo will need to find an offensive spark in conference play if they hope to compete with the RedHawks and the Bobcats for the MAC title as they were expected to in the preseason.
Western Michigan Broncos (6-17)
Big wins: 8-0 vs Michigan State, 10-8 vs UIC, 7-1 vs Murray State
Tough losses: 7-2 vs IU Indy, 10-2 at #3 Florida, 14-5 vs #23 Alabama
The Broncos have struggled with numerous blowout losses through the first month of the season that have caused their statistical marks to suffer, as the team picked to finish sixth in the MAC currently sits 10th with the 8th-best batting average in the MAC and the ninth-best ERA, struggling mightily to fill the bases with a .335 team OBP.
Similarly to the Rockets, the Broncos have especially struggled in the last couple of weeks, going 1-11 in their last 12 after starting the season well. The Broncos have had a tough schedule in that stint, but they haven’t been able to capitalize on games they were favored in, losing twice to IU Indy (6-15) at the Hoosier Classic as well as Florida A&M (6-14) earlier in the year.
Senior second baseman Riley Dittmar is following up an outstanding 2024 with an even better 2025, hitting .375 with a .946 OPS in 27 hits that have come in only 72 at-bats. Freshman third baseman Micaela Booth has burst onto the scene for the Broncos, supplying a power bat that has raked seven home runs (tied for second-most in the MAC) and earned 19 RBIs in only 23 games.
Buffalo Bulls (3-12)
Big wins: 6-0 at UNLV, 12-2 vs North Dakota, 4-2 vs Loyola Chicago
Tough losses: 21-1 vs #8 Oregon, 10-2 vs Tennessee State, 11-3 at #13 Georgia
The Bulls’ expectations were low going into 2025, but not as low as the worst winning percentage in the MAC. The squad has struggled to close out games, losing six of their last nine by two or fewer runs.
A demoralizing 21-1 loss to #8 Oregon on opening day wasn’t a good confidence builder going into the rest of the season, and despite wins over UNLV, North Dakota, and Loyola Chicago, the team ranks near the bottom of every statistical category.
Outfielders Emily Gorman and Mia Mitchell have been bright spots in a Bull lineup that has lacked serious depth, as Gorman is hitting over .400 with a 1.011 OPS on 23 total hits. Junior catcher Lily Lauck has a .295 batting average and a .493 OBP thanks to her 16 walks, which is the tie for the most out of any player in the MAC.
