UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team swept Concordia University (Mich.) in its 2011 season home opener Saturday afternoon (3/19). The Cardinals defeated Concordia 2-1 in the opener before posting a five inning, 8-0 victory in game two. Saginaw Valley is now 11-6 overall on the season.

In game one, Concordia got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fifth inning, but the Cardinals answered back in the bottom of the inning when senior Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) homered to left field. Saginaw Valley took the 2-1 lead when redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Kenyon (Tecumseh, Mich.) hit a sacrifice fly to right center field, bringing in freshman Marcy Medina (Valparaiso, Ind/Wheeler HS).

Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) picked up her sixth win of the season.  Fulton allowed only a single base runner, which was a fifth inning homerun, and struck-out 15 of 22 batters faced. Junior Natalie Wellman (Fairhaven, Mich. / Anchor Bay HS) went two-for-three in the contest.

In game two, Saginaw Valley came out swinging, scoring five runs on three hits in the first inning. The scoring started when Wellman laced a double that brought in senior Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.). Wellman scored when senior Ashley Jordan (Freeland, Mich.) reached first on a fielder's choice, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Saginaw Valley went up by four when senior Monica Gathright (Baroda, Mich. / KVCC) singled up the middle, bringing in both Jordan and Medina. The final run of the inning came when junior Kalie Burdick (Milford, Mich.) singled up the middle and Gathright crossed the plate.

The Cardinals would take a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Wellman hit a homerun to left field.  Saginaw Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich.) came in on a wild pitch and junior Ashley Coffin had a single up the middle that brought in Burdick for the 8-0 victory.

Burdick had three hits in the nightcap while Happ and Wellman each had two, with Wellman having two RBI's.

Sophomore Alexa Gehrls (Caledonia, Mich.) got the start in the circle for the Cardinals, pitching five innings while striking-out eight and allowing only one walk and one hit each.

Saginaw Valley will return to action on Sunday (3/20) when it travels to the University of Detroit-Mercy. The double header is scheduled to start at 12:00 pm.