MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team extended its win streak to six after sweeping day three of the Spring Break games in Melbourne, Florida on Tuesday. The Cardinals (7-3) defeated Wheeling University 12-2 in five innings before defeating Assumption 6-0 to improve to 7-3 on the season.
GAME 1: SVSU 12 – Wheeling 2
Jenna Morse hit a lead-off single to right field and stole second to get into scoring position in the first inning. Kate Pnacek followed through with a double to left field to score Morse and give SVSU a quick 1-0 lead. Olivia Elliott hit a sacrifice fly that scored Pnacek two plays later and the Cardinals led by two runs heading into the second inning.
A triple and a Saginaw Valley error in the top of the third allowed the other Cardinals to tie the score, but Lillia Sherman hit a two-out single to left field that brought Morse home and the advantage ticked back to SVSU heading into the fourth.
The Cardinal bats exploded in the fourth inning with nine runs on eight hits to jump out to the final score at 12-2.
Evelynn Ribicki reached first on an error that scored Kenzie Bromley on the play. Natalie Savage then singles to center field to score Mya Purdy. Rybicki stole home for a 6-3 lead before Morse doubled to left field to bring Savage home. A double by Sherman, a single by Elliott, and a triple by Purdy added the final five runs to the scoreboard and SVSU closed the game out after five complete innings.
Morse, Pnacek, Sherman, and Purdy finished game one with a team-best two hits in three plate appearances. Morse had one RBI and scored three runs, while Pnacek scored twice with an RBI. Sherman led SVSU with three RBI and scored once. Purdy tallied two RBI and a run to contribute to the win. Elliott (W, 1-0) earned her first win in the circle with four innings of work where she struck out three Wheeling batters. Grace Schloop pitched one inning and totaled three strikeouts in relief.
GAME 2: SVSU 6 – Assumption 0
Saginaw Valley State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first of game two against Assumption. Emma Helvie busted a triple to right field that scored Morse before Kimble singled to shortstop and brought Helvie home for the two-run advantage.
Reifschneider walked to reach first base and worked herself around to third to set up Pnacek for a sacrifice fly to right field and the Cardinals moved up to a 3-0 edge after two innings of play.
An error by Wheeling and a home run by Pnacek in the fourth widened the gap to 5-0. In the bottom of the fifth, Natalie Savage smacked a double to left field that scored Purdy for what would prove to be the final run of the game.
Helvie and Kimble led offensively with two hits apiece. Helvie recorded a triple, an RBI, and scored a run in the winning effort. Macy Irelan (W, 3-2) struck out nine on her way to a shutout victory.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals continue with two games tomorrow. The first against Tiffin at 10:00 a.m. before finishing against Davis & Elkins at 2:30 p.m.