HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team defeated Hillsdale College today (Apr. 2) in two games, 9-4 and 6-1, in a Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest. The Cardinals improved to 19-8 overall on the season, and 6-2 in the GLIAC, while Hillsdale fell to 8-15 overall on the season, and 4-4 in the GLIAC.

Saginaw Valley got their bats going early in the contest when they took a 3-0 lead over the Chargers in the top of the first inning. Senior Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) lined a double to left field that brought in both Natalie Wellman (Fairhaven, Mich. / Anchor Bay HS) and Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stephenson HS). Junior Kalie Burdick (Milford, Mich.) singled to left field scoring Peterson to end the scoring for the inning. The contest remained 3-0 until the fifth inning when Burdick would cross the plate on a pass ball to give the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage.

Peterson picked up her second hit of the contest in the top of the sixth inning when she knocked a homerun over the center field fence scoring Wellman. Saginaw Valley would go up 7-0 lead when freshman Marcy Medina (Valparaiso, Ind. / Wheeler HS) crossed home on a Hillsdale wild pitch. The Chargers tried to come back in the bottom of the sixth inning when they scored three runs on two hits to make the score 6-3.

Saginaw Valley answered back in the top of the seventh inning when Coffin singled to right field bringing in Tori Taylor (Kitchener, Ont. / Grand River CHS).  Peterson would follow that up with a double down the left field line scoring Coffin giving them a 9-3 advantage going into the bottom of the seventh. The Chargers would would add one run but it would not be enough as the Cardinals went on to a 9-4 victory.

Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) got the start in the circle for Saginaw Valley pitching five innings with nine strikeouts. Fulton is now 12-4 overall on the season, while senior Amanda Astor (Dyer, Ind. / Marion Catholic HS) came in for relief pitching two innings for the Cardinals. Peterson ended the contest with three hits and five runs batted in for Saginaw Valley.

The Cardinals took the lead early over the Chargers in game two when Peterson laced a double to center field scoring Wellman for an early 1-0 advantage. Hillsdale knotted the score in the top of the second inning when they scored one run on one hit.

Peterson lead off the bottom of the third inning with her second homerun of the day giving Saginaw Valley a 2-1 lead. The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead when redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Kenyon (Tecumseh, Mich.) lined a double down the left field line bringing in Medina.

Saginaw Valley finished their scoring the bottom of the sixth inning when the scored three runs. The first two runs came in when Wellman doubled down the left field line scoring both Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.) and Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich. / Kettering HS). Peterson picked up her eighth run batted in of the day when she reached first on a fielder's choice that allowed Coffin to score for the 6-1 win over Hillsdale.

Sophomore Alexa Gehrls (Caledonia, Mich.) picked up her sixth win of the season pitching 5.2 innings for Saginaw Valley, while Fulton pitched 1.1 innings in relief for her fifth save of the season. Saginaw Valley scored six runs on ten hits in game two against the Chargers.

The Cardinals will be back in action on Sunday (Apr. 3) when they take on Hillsdale College. The double header is scheduled to start at noon.