UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team braved a weather delay between game one and two to sweep Davenport on Friday afternoon with a 6-3 win in game one and a 13-0 win after six innings in game two. The Cardinals (35-9, 20-2 GLIAC) hit 20 wins in the conference for just the second time in program history. The first time was in 2011 when SVSU finished with a 22-8 mark in league play.
GAME 1: SVSU 6 – DU 3
Aalana Kimble (W, 15-3) earned the win in the circle with another complete game performance. She totaled eight strikeouts. Kimble added a hit and scored a run to help her own cause on the offensive side. Ella Reifschneider was a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI to lead offensively. Jenna Morse finished with two hits in her three at-bats while scoring three times, including a home run.
Morse got the scoring going with her third home run of the season to center field in the top of the first inning to give SVSU a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers (17-25, 8-14 GLIAC) responded with a three-run blast to center field in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead with no outs. Kimble then punched out two of the next three batters on strikes to get out of the inning before more damage could be done.
Reifschneider cut the lead to one run with an RBI double to left field to score Mya Purdy in the top of the fourth, and the score sat at 3-2 in favor of Davenport.
Two walks followed by a single by Kimble loaded the bases for Olivia Elliott in the top of the fifth inning. Elliott then hit a double to right center field and scored Kimble and Morse for a 4-3 advantage. Kenzie Bromley then scored on a wild pitch on the next play, and the score moved to 5-3, SVSU.
Bromley put the final run of the game on the board in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI double to left field that brought Morse across the plate for the third time in the game.
SVSU 13 – DU 0 (6 Innings)
Macy Irelan (W, 15-3) pitched game two and had another dominant performance in the circle with her second no-hitter in the 13-0 win during game two. Irelan was three walks away from a perfect game with her eighth double-digit strikeout performance, with 10 Panthers sat down on strikes.
Kate Pnacek led the Cardinal bats with a hit in all four of her plate appearances, including two doubles. She scored once and tallied two RBI in the game. Kimble went 3-for-4 with a run while Elliott (2-for-3) and Reifschneider (2-for-4) recorded two hits. Reifschneider scored twice and had two RBI. Ella Schneider had a team-high four RBI while scoring once.
A two-out, bases-loaded walk in the first inning allowed the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead to start game two.
Schneider doubled to left field to score Evelynn Rybicki and Bromley to move the lead to 3-0. Reifschneider then hit an infield single to score Schneider, and the Cardinals had a four-run lead. Pnacek singled up the middle to bring Reifschneider home, and SVSU held a 5-0 advantage through three innings.
The Cardinal bats exploded in the sixth with eight runs on six hits and one Panther error. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs before an RBI groundout scored Bromley for the first run of the inning and a six-run lead. Reifschneider singled through the left side to bring Natalie Savage home. Purdy scored on a throw to second as Reifschneider stole second. Pnacek scored Reifschneider with a double to left center before a wild pitch brought Pnacek home for a 10-0 lead. Faith Maloney singled to center and scored Lauren Evans and Savage, then doubled to left field to score Maloney for the final score of game two, 13-0.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals host Ferris State tomorrow, April 19, in the final doubleheader at home of the regular season with game one beginning at 1:00 p.m. (ET).