HILLSDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University softball team finished off a four game weekend sweep of Hillsdale with 4-3 and 9-1 wins in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) competition today (Apr. 3).

The Cardinals lit up the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning when senior Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) crossed home on a throwing error by the Chargers. Hillsdale would tie the score in the bottom of the seventh inning forcing the contest into extra innings.

Freshman Marcy Medina (Valparaiso, Ind. / Wheeler HS) would hit a homerun in the top of the eighth inning scoring both Peterson and Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stephenson HS) giving Saginaw Valley the 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the eighth inning the Chargers answered back with a homerun that brought in two runs making the final score, 4-3.

Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) got the start for the Cardinals, pitching all eight innings with 13 strikeouts. Fulton is now 13-4 overall on the season.

In game two, Saginaw Valley got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Medina hit her second homerun of the afternoon, this time a grand slam over the left field fence scoring Peterson, Natalie Wellman (Fairhaven, Mich. / Anchor Bay HS),and Coffin to give the Cardinals the early 4-0 advantage. Sophomore Jenna Holmes (Jenison, Mich.) would help SVSU extend its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when she led off the inning with homerun to left field.

Hillsdale scored one run in the top of the fifth inning making the score 5-1. Saginaw Valley scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth inning giving them the 9-1 win over the Chargers. The first two runs came in on back-to-back doubles by senior Monica Gathright (Baroda, Mich. / KVCC) and junior Kalie Burdick (Milford, Mich.). The final run of the contest came across the plate when freshman Lindsey Hayward (Kitchener, Ont.) singled up the middle scoring pinch runner Danielle Kern (Reese, Mich.).

Sophomore Alexa Gehrls (Caledonia, Mich.) pitched all five innings for Saginaw Valley, improving her record to 7-2 overall on the season.

The Cardinals improve to 21-8 overall on the season, and 8-2 in the GLIAC, while Hillsdale falls to 8-17 overall on the season and 4-6 in the GLIAC. Saginaw Valley will be back in action on Wednesday (Apr. 6) when they return home to play Lake Superior State. The double header is scheduled for 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.