CLERMONT, Fla. - The Saginaw Valley State University softball team, coming off its first doubleheader sweep of the young 2014 season, extended its win streak to four games with a sweep in the final day of competition on Saturday (Mar. 8) at the NTC Games in Clermont, Fla.
The Cardinals began the day with a 6-0 victory over Bentley before surviving an extra-inning contest against Southern New Hampshire, 3-2.
Game One - Bentley
SVSU would get on the board with a trio of runs in the bottom of the third inning. After a leadoff triple by Deanna Stickler-Gatson, Shelby Weeks laced an RBI single to right center to score Stickler for the game's first run. Weeks and Jordan Randall would later score on an Amanda Best single to left field, extending the lead to 3-0.
The bottom of the fourth would feature the Cards plating another three runs to push the lead to 6-0. Weeks and Mallie Hall scored the first two off a Bentley error. The third and final run of the ballgame would come off a Marcy Medina single to left field, scoring Randall.
That was much more than the amount of run support needed for Samantha Willman, who fired a two-hitter for the Cardinals while improving to 2-0 on the season. Willman went the distance, striking-out nine batters and allowing just one walk.
Weeks was 3-for-4 in the opener with two runs and an RBI. Medina and Hall each added a pair of hits. Randall reached base three times via the walk.
Game Two - Southern N.H.
The nightcap featured a great pitchers' duel, as both players combined for 25 strikeouts, with 11 coming from Saginaw Valley's Sarah Appold.
The game remained scoreless through eight full innings of play, with SVSU scoring a single run in the top of the ninth as Weeks crossed the plate after a Southern error.
With two outs and a runner on third after she was advanced there after the international tiebreaker rule and a sacrifice bunt, Southern tied the game on an RBI single, sending the contest to the 10th inning.
In the top of the 10th, the Cards used singles from Hall and Stickler to score Best and Hall, respectively, and take a 3-1 lead.
Southern would score a run in the bottom of the frame, but Appold would close-out the game with the final out and the 3-2 victory.
Appold worked all 10 innings in the circle, posting the 11 strikeouts and allowing just six hits and a pair of walks. Her record now stands at 2-0 on the year.
Hall and Stickler each had a hit and an RBI while Lindsay Hayward accounted for the third Cardinal base knock, adding two walks.
Saginaw Valley heads home from the spring trip with an 8-3 record. The Cards are currently slated to host a home doubleheader against Wisconsin-Parkside on Wednesday (Mar. 12). That is going to be weather-dependent. Stay tuned to www.svsucardinals.com for all information regarding weather cancellations and postponements this spring.
