UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader against Roosevelt on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals (31-9, 18-2 GLIAC) saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end in a 15-5 defeat in game one before bouncing back with a hard-fought 6-5 win in game two.
GAME 1: Roosevelt 15 – SVSU 5
Saginaw Valley State rallied from a 6-0 deficit with five runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Roosevelt left no doubt with a nine-run top of the seventh to grab the game one win.
Delaney Conley (L, 2-2) got the start in the circle for the Cardinals and went 2.1 innings before being relieved by Olivia Elliott. Elliott tossed 3.1 innings with three strikeouts before Grace Schloop made a one-inning appearance where she struck out a Laker. Aalana Kimble got the last out of the game for SVSU.
The Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the second after a single up the middle scored two with two outs for the early advantage.
A two-run homerun by Roosevelt in the third doubled the Laker lead as the SVSU offense struggled to get going.
Two more runners crossed the plate in the visitor half of the fifth inning, and the score sat at 6-0 through four and a half frames.
Ella Schneider doubled to left field to lead off the bottom half of the fifth, and Kate Pnacek smashed just her second home run of the season to right center to trim the margin to 6-2 with two innings remaining.
Elliott got on base with a single to center field before Mya Purdy hit a triple down the right-field line for a third run of the game. Purdy scored two plays later on a fielder's choice situation, and the Cardinals trailed 6-4 with only one out in the sixth. Ella Reifschneider tallied the final run of the game for SVSU with a bases-loaded walk to score Pnacek, and SVSU had just one run to make up before the Lakers pulled away in the final inning.
Natalie Savage finished game one 2-for-2 with a walk. Kimble also had two hits in her four at-bats. Pnacek led the way with two RBI while Reifschneider, Purdy, and Schneider tallied one.
GAME 2: SVSU 6 – Roosevelt 5
Saginaw Valley State got up early with two runs in the first inning and never trailed through game two to secure the split for the day.
Kimble (W, 13-3) registered her ninth complete game in the circle for the Cardinals while also snatching a 13th win. She sat three Lakers down on strikes while only walking one in her seven innings of work.
Elliott got things going with a two-run blast to right center that also scored Jenna Morse and gave SVSU the early 2-0 lead.
A Roosevelt error in the fifth allowed Savage to score and push the advantage three runs before Elliott hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Kimble, and the Cardinals held a 4-0 lead with one out. Purdy brought Morse home on a groundout for the final run of the fifth inning and SVSU held a 5-0 lead with two innings remaining.
An error by SVSU snapped the opportunity for a shutout before a single through the left side scored a run for the Lakers, and the score sat at 5-2 through six innings of play.
Roosevelt made things interesting in the seventh with a runner earning first on a hit by pitch before two singles loaded the bases. A ground out scored one to trim the lead to two, before a double brought two more home and the score sat at 6-5 with one out. Kimble punched out another with a fly out to left field before walking off the victory with a strike out swinging two batters later.
Morse and Elliott were 2-for-2 in game two to lead the Cardinal bats in the win. Morse scored twice, while Elliot crossed the plate once while also bringing three runners in. Kimble, Reifschneider, and Savage recorded a hit in the nightcap. Savage, Purdy, and Kenzie Bromley recorded an RBI in the contest.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals end their three-date homestand with a 5-1 record and will now hit the road to begin a two-day road trip this week. They start at Findlay on Wednesday, April 16, before getting back to GLIAC play at Davenport on Friday, April 18. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
