UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team defeated Tiffin University 7-3, and 3-2 today (Apr. 10) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest.
Game One
Saginaw Valley would have to battle back after letting one run score in the top of the first inning. The Cardinals got on the board in the second inning when Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.) singled and Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich) reached on a fielder’s choice. Senior Shannon McLaughlin (Benton Harbor, Mich. / KVCC) dug in for Saginaw Valley and singled up the middle to score McKeith. Happ would come around to score after Ashley Coffin (Sterling Height, Mich. / Stephenson HS) singled through the left side.
The Cardinals would tack two more runs on in the bottom of the third. Junior Jill Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) singled up the middle and Angela Kaiser (Waterford, Mich. / Our Lady of the Lakes HS) advanced her to second. McKeith stepped into the box and hit her third homerun of the season for Saginaw Valley. Tiffin tried to battle back when they scored off a homerun in the top of the fourth inning, but the Cardinals answered back in the bottom of the fourth when McLaughlin hit a homerun to put Saginaw Valley up by two.
McLaughlin started the hitting again for Saginaw Valley in the sixth inning when she singled up the middle. Junior Kimberly Sills (Clinton Twp., Mich. / Chippewa Valley HS) reached first on a fielders choice and stole second base on a pass ball. Senior Billi Hoeppner (Hemlock Mich.) singled to third base and advanced Sills to third. Ashley Jordan (Freeland, Mich.) stepped up to the plate and singled to right field brining Hoeppner around to score the final run for Saginaw Valley.
Senior Kari Bowlby (Elkhart, Ind.) got the start in the circle for the Cardinals pitching a complete game striking out three batters and allowing only one walk. Bowlby is now 7-0 on the season. McLaughlin was three-for-three with two runs batted in while McKeith was two-for-three with two runs batted in.
Game Two
The Cardinals would have to once again battle back from a one run deficit at the end of the first inning. The Dragons got up by two on Saginaw Valley in the bottom of the third inning on a hit up the middle. The Cardinals answered back in the top of the forth inning when Happ started the hitting when she singled to left field and McLaughlin hit her second homerun of the day to tie the contest.
Hoeppner singed and advanced to second to start the fifth inning for Saginaw Valley. Jordan singled to right field scoring Hoeppner to end the scoring on the day. McLaughlin ended the day four-for-five with two homeruns, and four runs batted in. Happ was two-for-three in the second game, while Hoeppner was two-for-four.
Freshman Alexa Gehrls got the start in the circle for the second game with six strikeouts, and giving up only two hits. Gehrls is 1-0 on the season.
With the win Saginaw Valley improves to 21-2 overall on the season, and 8-0 in the GLIAC, while Tiffin falls to 18-12 overall on the season, and 4-6 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals will return to action Sunday (Apr. 11) when they travel to Ashland for a GLIAC contest. The double header is scheduled to start at 12:00pm.