MIDLAND, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team was swept today (Apr. 23) by Northwood University, 5-1 and 5-4 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest.

The Cardinals fell behind 2-0 in game one when the Timberwolves scored two runs on a homerun in the bottom of the first inning. Saginaw Valley scored their only run of the contest in the top of the third inning when freshman Tori Taylor (Kitchener, Ont.) had a sacrifice line out to center field that brought in Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.). Northwood tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third inning going up 4-1 over the Cardinals. The Timberwolves added their last run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth inning for the 5-1 win.

Sophomore Alexa Gehrls (Caledonia, Mich.) started in the circle for Saginaw Valley pitching four innings making her 10-5 overall on the season, while Jill Kaltz (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Henry Ford II) pitched two innings of relief for the Cardinals.

In game two, Northwood took the early lead over Saginaw Valley when they scored three runs on three hits in the top of the first inning.  Junior Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stephenson HS) hit a lead-off homerun to center field for the Cardinal in the bottom of the first inning making the score 3-1. The Timberwolves extended their lead to four in the top of the fourth inning when they scored two runs off a double to center field.

Saginaw Valley continued to chip away at the Northwood lead scoring one run in the fourth inning when Taylor crossed the plate on a pass ball by the Timberwolves. The Cardinals came back 5-3 when sophomore Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich. / Kettering HS) laced a single to left field that brought in Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.). The Cardinals would score one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Kaitlyn Kenyon (Tecumseh, Mich.) singled up the middle scoring Coffin. The one run was not enough as Northwood went on to a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals.

Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) started in the circle for Saginaw Valley pitching all seven innings. She ended the outing with 13 strikeouts to set a new SVSU single season strikeout record. Fulton now has 274 strikeouts this season which surpasses the previous record of 265 strikeouts set by Kathy Kinasz in 1992.

With the losses Saginaw Valley falls to 30-14 overall on the season, and 17-8 in the GLIAC, while Northwood improves to 21-16-1 overall on the season, and 15-10-1 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals will be back in action on Friday (Apr. 29) when they return home to face Grand Valley. The double header is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.