LEESBURG, Fla. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team added two more wins on the final day of the Spring Break games in Florida on Saturday. The Cardinals (15-3) defeated Illinois-Springfield 1-0 before finalizing the week with a 3-0 victory over Missouri – St. Louis.
Four SVSU players hit above .400 with Cam Coonan leading the way with nine hits and a .474 batting average and six RBI. Katelyn Pnacek hit .450 with nine hits and six RBI as well. Maddie Campagna and Emily Beckas registered at .429. Jackie Popko (.370), Sarah Gersch (.344), Paige Thomson (.313), and Alexis Gills (.308) all hit over .300 during the ten-game trip. Gersch led the Cardinals with seven RBI and seven scored runs while Gills also crossed the plate seven times for the week.
The Saginaw Valley State pitching group finished with winning records for the week with Jaclyn Groves (3-0), Emily Depew (2-0), and Margot van Eijl (2-0) staying unbeaten for the week. Alyssa Muench finished the week 2-1 and recorded the only save on the trip.
Game 1: Saginaw Valley State def. Illinois-Springfield, 1-0
Game one was a defensive battle as neither team gave up runs through the first six innings of play. The game was decided in the seventh when Sydney Herioux laid down a sacrifice bunt with runners in the corners that allowed Gills to score from third and break the deadlock in the top of the inning.
Two strikeouts and a grounder to short ended the final chance of tying the game for UIS and ended the contest.
Depew got the start and earned the win as she pitched all seven innings for her fourth complete game of the season. She sat four batters down with strikes and improved her record to 3-2 inside the circle.
Game 2: Saginaw Valley State def. Missouri – St. Louis, 3-0
The Cardinals scored early in game two with an RBI single through the left side that scored Popko in the bottom half of the first inning.
The next four innings remained scoreless until Campagna hit a single to center field that scored Olivia Sabin and added an insurance run. Gersch tallied another in the sixth with a sacrifice fly that moved Campagna to the plate for the final result of the game.
Muench (W, 6-1) pitched the full game and registered two strikeouts, and allowed only two hits in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
The SVSU softball team heads to Ohio to face Cedarville in a doubleheader on Friday, March 17. Game one is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.