FINDLAY, OHIO – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split in a road doubleheader against Findlay on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals took game one 6-0 before the Oilers earned an 8-4 win in the nightcap.
GAME 1 – SVSU 6 – FINDLAY 0
The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead in the opening inning after an Oiler error rounded Ella Reifschneider around the bases for the first score. Sara Moos then doubled to left center two plays later to bring Alyssa Muench across the plate to double to SVSU lead.
Emily Depew (W, 5-3) got the start in the circle and earned her first shutout win of the season after striking out seven Findlay batters and going the distance. Depew allowed five hits and only walked one Oiler on the way to her fifth win of the season.
Mya Purdy swatted a solo home run in the fourth inning, her third HR of the year. That total ties her with Paige Kolinski for the team-high in that category.
Maddie Campagna followed suit and smacked a home run to left center in the sixth inning that scored Katelyn Pnacek and pushed the advantage to 5-0. The final run was scored by Sydney Herioux on a caught stealing play in the sixth frame.
Muench led the Cardinal offense as she went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run. Herioux had two hits and a run in her three at-bats. Campagna registered a team-best two RBI in the game-one win. SVSU totaled 11 hits in the game with two home runs and two doubles.
GAME 2 – FINDLAY 8 – SVSU 4
Game two began similarly to game one with a Findlay error bringing home an SVSU baserunner to give the Cardinals the early 1-0 lead. A passed ball brought a second run in and SVSU doubled its lead, 2-0, after the first inning.
Muench (L, 3-4) was the starting pitcher for the second game. She went 3.0 innings and tallied four strikeouts in the losing effort. Aalana Kimble finished the game in relief. She allowed one hit and one run in three innings of work.
A Cardinal error in the bottom half of the first gave the Oilers a run before an RBI single down the right-field line knotted things up after one.
A home run to center field in the bottom of the second scored two more runs for Findlay. A double in the third frame scored three additional runs and the Oilers held a 7-2 lead after three innings of play.
Reifschneider doubled to score Olivia Sabin and trim the gap to four runs.
Findlay tacked on one more run before Ella Schneider hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored Reifschneider to half the deficit in the final inning, but the Oilers cut the rally attempt short to secure the win.
Reifschneider led the way in the second game with two hits in her four appearances. She scored twice for the Cardinals and brought in another run. Schneider recorded an RBI as well.
UP NEXT
SVSU will continue the trip to Ohio with a doubleheader at Tiffin tomorrow. Game one is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., EST.
