BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team continued to roll with a sweep over Ferris State on Thursday night with a 10-1 win in five innings followed by an 8-0 game-two victory in the nightcap. The Cardinals (22-8, 9-1 GLIAC) have now won six straight and 11 of their last 12 games as they lead the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with a 9-1 record in league play.
GAME 1: SVSU 10 – FSU 1 (5 Innings)
SVSU scored a run in every inning on the way to a dominant 10-1 win in game one of the doubleheader against the Bulldogs (15-11, 4-6 GLIAC). Aalana Kimble (2-3), Kate Pnacek (2-2), and Ella Schneider (2-3) led the way in hits with two apiece. Kimble and Pnacek recorded two RBI, while Olivia Elliott had a team-best three RBI with her three-run blast in the top of the first inning. Macy Irelan (W, 10-3) added another win to her season record as she went the distance and allowed just one hit and one run while striking out three FSU hitters.
Ella Reifschneider reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second before Jenna Morse was hit by a pitch to set up Elliott's three-run home run in the opening frame, and SVSU was up 3-0 just like that.
A triple by Ferris State in the home half of the inning put the score at 3-1 and proved to be the only run of the game for the Bulldogs.
Kenzie Bromley led off the second with a double to left field. Kimble then singled to right field to score Bromley and put Natalie Savage on third base. Reifschneider was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners and Pnacek singled to center field to score Savage and Kimble for two more and push the lead to 6-1.
A walk, single, and another hit batter loaded the bases, and Bromley scored on a ground out to second base for a six-run advantage. Schneider crossed the bag on a passed ball the next play, and the Cardinals led 8-1 after three innings of play.
Pnacket singled to lead off the fourth but was out at second on a fielder's choice play that put Mya Purdy on first base. Purdy stole second before Emma Helvie cracked a single to center field that scored Purdy, and the lead widened to eight going into the fifth inning.
Reifscnheider collected once final run in the fifth with an RBI-single to center field scored Schneider for the game's final 10-1 tally.
GAME 2: SVSU 8 – FSU 0 (6 Innings)
Kimble stayed hot offensively with three hits and two runs in the second to bring her two-game total to 5-for-7 on the afternoon. Elliott and Bromley each recorded two hits in game two. Seven Cardinal players had an RBI to contribute to the sweep. Kimble (W, 8-3) started in the circle, pitched a complete game with 6.0 innings of work, and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts to earn her seventh win. It is the first time in her college career that she recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game.
The Bulldogs held SVSU scoreless in the third inning, but the Cardinals were able to push at least one run across the plate in the other five frames for the 8-0 win in game two.
Elliott got things going in the first inning with a single to left field that scored Kimble for a quick 1-0 edge.
A Bulldog error in the second allowed Pnacek to reach base and scored Bromley to double up the advantage after two.
A three-up-three down inning for the Cardinals in the third didn't deter them from adding more runs, with another coming off a double from Bromley in the fourth that scored Emily Schmeltz and extended the lead to 3-0.
Back-to-back RBI hits in the fifth increased the margin to 5-0. Reifschneider smacked a single to center to score Kimble, followed by Morse with a double to left field to bring Reifschneider home.
The sixth was the best inning offensively for the Cardinals as Pnacek singled, and an FSU error allowed another score. Schneider scored on a ground out before Emma Bolding singled to score Pnacek for the 8-0 score and sealed the game for SVSU.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will now travel to Hammond, Indiana, to play Purdue Northwest on Saturday for a GLIAC doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. (ET).