CLERMONT, Fla. - The Saginaw Valley State University softball team turned in two quality wins on Friday (Mar. 7) at the NTC Games in Clermont, Florida. The Cardinals came out of the gates hitting in the 11:00 am game, beating No. 16 West Virginia Wesleyan 13-4 in five innings. The second game of the day was a nine inning thriller that ended in a 4-3 Cardinal win against St. Anselm.
Saginaw Valley improves to 6-3 on the season following the wins.
Game One - West Virginia Wesleyan
SVSU began the game with their hot bats and it did not disappoint. The top of the first inning saw seven runs off of five Cardinal hits. Shelby Weeks began the game with a single to center field and then promptly stole second base. Jordan Randall followed in Weeks' footsteps, hitting a single to right field followed by a stolen base of her own. Designated player Abby Stoner added a single, scoring both Weeks and Randall. Chelsea Adcock and Mackenzie Rousse eached reached on errors, bringing up Weeks for the second time in the inning. She would single again, scoring Rousse for the seventh run of the inning. SVSU led 7-0 after the first.
Marcy Medina, Lindsay Hayward, Amanda Best, Rousse, Weeks, and Stoner singles and a Randall double led to three more Cardinal runs off of sven hits in the top of the third inning. Wesleyan added two runs in the third, making the score 10-2.
Weeks' fourth single and third stolen base of the day led-off the fifth inning. A third Randall single advanced Weeks to third base with Nicole Romain on deck. The junior catcher singled to left center. Weeks, Randall and Romain scored in the inning, making the score 13-2. The Bobcats scored a pair of runs in the fifth before the Cardinal defense sealed the victory over the nation's 16th ranked team.
Sophomore Sarah Vrabel improved to 2-2 on the season after scattering seven hits and allowing three earned runs in the winning effort.
Game Two - St. Anselm
Senior pitcher Alexa Gehrls started the second game in the circle. A couple of bad bounces went against the Cardinals as they went down 2-0 early. Weeks reached first base on a walk and advanced to second base on an error. Randall was thrown out after putting the ball in play, advancing Weeks to third. The Cardinals were not able to plate the sophomore shortstop in the first.
The Hawks struck again in the top of the fifth, scoring a single run off of a lead-off single that was scored off of a fly ball to right, extending their lead to 3-0.
Lindsay Hayward sparked the SVSU bats with a single up the middle. Best put a hard grounder in play, advancing Hayward to second. Left-hander Adcock roped a ball to left center, driving in Hayward to score the first Cardinal run of the game.
Saginaw Valley's rally effort needed to produce two runs to tie the game at three to force extra innings. Junior Mackenzie Rousse started things off by lacing a double to center field. Weeks followed the center fielder's double with a double of her own, scoring Rousse. Stoner singled up the middle, moving Weeks up to third. Hayward reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Weeks for the game-tying run to force extras.
International tie-breaker rules started Rousse on second base to begin the inning. A beautiful Weeks bunt not only advanced Rousse to third, but her speed also allowed her to reach first base safely. Jordan Randall came to the plate on a mission to redeem her prior at bat where she struck out looking on a pitch that looked to be out of the strike zone. The left fielder delivered a game-winning single to left field, giving the Cardinals a 4-3 victory.
Gehrls earned the extra inning win with a stellar three-hit showing, improving her record to 2-1 on the season.
The Lady Cards are back in action Saturday (Mar. 8) as they face Bentley at 4:00 pm and Southern New Hampshire at 6:00 pm in their final day of competition at the NTC Games.
