UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team swept Lake Erie, 9-0 in five innings and 9-2 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader today (Apr. 15).

The Cardinals broke open the scoreboard right away in game one, scoring six runs on four hits. The first run came across the plate when junior Kalie Burdick (Milford, Mich.) singled scoring Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.) stepped into the box later in the inning with bases loaded and hit a grand slam bringing in Kaitlyn Kenyon (Tecumseh, Mich.), Burdick, and Marcy Medina (Valparaiso, Ind. / Wheeler HS). The final run of the first inning for Saginaw Valley scored when sophomore Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich. / Kettering HS) doubled to left field bringing around Monica Gathright (Baroda, Mich. / KVCC).

The Cardinals tacked on one run in the bottom of the second when Burdick picked up her second hit of the game doubling to right field. Saginaw Valley would extend their lead to eight in the bottom of the third when Happ dug in and laced a single to right field bringing in McKeith. The final run for the Cardinals scored when Danielle Kern (Reese, Mich.) hit a homerun for the 9-0 run rule win over Lake Erie.

Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) got the start in the circle for Saginaw Valley, pitching four innings with eight strikeouts, improving her record to 16-5 overall on the season while Jill Kaltz (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Henry Ford II) pitched one inning in relief.

In game two the Cardinals took the early lead in the top of the first when Medina reached first on a fielding error that allowed junior Natalie Wellman (Fairhaven Mich. / Anchor Bay HS) to cross the plate. Kenyon laced a double down the left field line that would bring in Medina and give Saginaw Valley the 2-0 lead over the Storm. The final run of the inning scored when sophomore Jenna Holmes (Jenison, Mich.) reached first on a Lake Erie error allowing Kenyon to score from second base.

Saginaw Valley went up 5-0 over the Storm in the top of the third inning when Holmes laced a homerun over the left field fence bringing in Medina. Lake Erie scored their first run of the day in the bottom of the third inning on one hit. The Cardinals answered back when junior Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stephenson HS) hit a solo homerun in the top of the fourth inning.

Lake Erie added their second run in the bottom of the fourth inning making the score 6-2. Saginaw Valley added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning when Kenyon homered over the left field fence scoring Medina. The Cardinals tacked on one more run in the top of the sixth when Kern hit her second solo homerun of the afternoon giving the Cardinals a 9-2 victory over the Storm.

Sophomore Alexa Gehrls (Caledonia, Mich.) went five innings in the circle for Saginaw Valley and picked up her tenth win of the season, while senior Amanda Astor (Dyer, Ind. / Marion Catholic HS) pitched two innings in relief with five strikeouts.

The Cardinals improve to 27-10 overall on the season and 14-4 in the GLIAC, while Lake Erie falls to 8-26 overall on the season and 0-16 in the GLIAC. Saginaw Valley will be back in action on Saturday (Apr. 16) when they face Ashland University. The double header is scheduled to start at noon.