FINDLAY, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split its doubleheader at Findlay on Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals (16-4) took game one 5-2 before the Oilers earned a 9-6 win in the nightcap.
Alexis Gills (3-5) and Paige Kolinski (3-6) led the SVSU bats with three hits. Kolinski recorded a home run in game two for her two RBI on the afternoon. Katelyn Pnacek (2-3), Cam Coonan (2-7), and Sara Moos (2-7) registered two hits. Moos led the Cardinals with four RBI.
Game 1: Saginaw Valley State def. Findlay, 5-2
The Cardinals were held without a run until the top of the seventh inning when they exploded for five runs in the 5-2 victory over the Oilers.
SVSU had just two hits leading up to the final inning. Sarah Gersch hit a single to left field with two outs to load the base path. Moos busted a double to left center that scored Gersch, Jackie Popko, and Gills to give Saginaw Valley a 3-2 lead. Coonan then singled to right center to score Emily Beckas and Kolinski to complete the final score.
The Oilers threatened with a runner on third base, but a fly out to center field sealed the victory for the Cardinals.
Emily Depew (W, 4-2) got the win after pitching a complete game where she allowed just two runs and struck out two batters.
Game 2: Findlay def. Saginaw Valley State, 9-6
Moos hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. Findlay responded with three runs in the bottom half before adding four additional runs in the second inning to hold a 7-1 lead.
Popko walked with the bases loaded to bring Coonan home and cut the deficit to 7-2. Kolinski smacked a home run in the fifth inning to score Moos and bring SVSU within three runs of the Oilers. A run in the bottom of the fifth and the sixth extended things to 9-4.
A wild pitch spotted the Cardinals a run in the seventh before Leah Denome earned an RBI on a ground out that brought SVSU back within three runs, but Saginaw Valley State couldn't pull closer before the final two outs were recorded.
Alyssa Muench (L, 6-2) got the loss in game two with just 1.1 innings pitched. Jaclyn Groves came in relief and pitched 4.2 innings with a stat line of four runs and four strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The SVSU softball team remains in Ohio for a doubleheader against Cedarville on Friday, March 17. The first game of that two-game showdown is set for 2:00 p.m.