BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University softball team returned to the diamond in winning fashion after more than week idle with 2-0 and 4-1 victories over Ferris State University today (Mar. 31) in its 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.
GAME
ONE
The Cardinals would get things going in third inning when
Lauren Memmer (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) led the
inning off with a single and Ashley
Jordan (Freeland, Mich./Freeland HS) would move her over to
third with a single up the middle. Angela
Kaiser (Waterford, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes HS) would single
Memmer home and Jordan Stuart (Richmond, Mich./Richmond HS)
would score Jordan on a SAC fly to left field to give SVSU the only
two runs it would need on the afternoon.
Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich./Byron HS) picked up her seventh win of season with a complete game shutout. Fulton struck out seven batters and allowed just four hits in the outing.
GAME
TWO
The Cardinals would find themselves in a 1-0 hole after
the first inning but would get the bats working in the bottom of
the second inning when Kaiser and Kailah
Happ (Waterford, Mich./Kettering HS) both singled to start the
inning. Shannon McLaughlin (Benton Harbor, Mich./Watervliet
HS)would blast a double to left field to drive in both runners and
give the Cardinals a 2-1 advantage after two.
Saginaw Valley would add two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Happ led off the inning with a double and Kalie Burdick (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) earned a walk. Both runners would score later in the inning on wild pitches to give the Cardinals a 4-1 advantage.
Kari Bowlby (Elkhark, Ind./Central HS) improved to 6-0 on the season, allowing five hits and one run on the afternoon, while striking out four Bulldogs.
The Cardinals improve to 15-2 overall on the season and 2-0 in the GLIAC while Ferris State falls to 9-9 overall on the season and 0-2 in the GLIAC. SVSU will return to the diamond on Friday (Apr. 2) when the host Findlay in a doubleheader starting at 3:00 pm.