UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team swept Grand Valley State University today (Apr. 29) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. The Cardinals defeated the Lakers 2-0 in game one, and 13-3 in five innings in the second game.
Saginaw Valley got on the board early, scoring their first run in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Marcy Medina (Valparaiso, Ind. / Wheeler HS) singled to left field driving in junior Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stephenson HS).
The Cardinals added the final run of the contest in the bottom of the third inning when Coffin crossed the plate on a Kaitlyn Kenyon (Tecumseh, Mich.) double to left center. Both Kenyon and Medina went two-for-three on the game, while Coffin went one-for-two.
Senior Jade Fulton (Byron, Mich.) pitched all seven innings for the Cardinals with 11 strikeouts and allowing only three hits.
Saginaw Valley came out strong in game two scoring eight runs in the top of the first inning off of five hits. The Cardinals first two runs of the contest came in when Medina doubled to left center bringing in both Natalie Wellman (Fairhaven, Mich. / Anchor Bay HS) and Kenyon. Medina crossed the plate for Saginaw Valley when freshman Lindsey Hayward (Ancaster, Ont.) singled through the right side allowing the Cardinals to take the 3-0 lead.
Senior Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) scored from third base when Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich) was able to reach first on a Laker error extending the Cardinal lead to four. Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.) dug in with bases loaded and laced a triple to right center that would score Tori Taylor (Kitchener, Ont.), Happ, and Hayward. The final run of the first inning came in for Saginaw Valley when Wellman singled to right field scoring McKeith.
The Cardinals tacked on one run in the top of the second inning to increase their lead to 9-0 when Taylor hit a single that scored Peterson. Saginaw Valley scored four runs in the top of the third inning on back-to-back homeruns by Peterson and Hayward that would allow the Cardinals to have a 13 run advantage over Grand Valley.
The Lakers only runs of the contest scored in the bottom of the fourth inning off a three run homerun to left center field. Both teams remained scoreless in the fifth inning as Saginaw Valley went on to a 13-3 victory in five innings.
Fulton picked up her second win of the day pitching three innings with five strikeouts. She is now 21-7 overall on the season, while Jill Kaltz (Sterling Heights, Mich.) came in in relief pitching two innings for the Cardinals.
With the win, Saginaw Valley improves to 32-14 overall on the season, and 19-8 in the GLIAC, while Grand Valley falls to 37-10 overall on the season, and 23-7 in the GLIAC. The two teams will meet up again on Saturday (Apr. 30) for the final regular season home game. The double-header is scheduled for 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.