ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader at Grand Valley State on Friday afternoon. The 24th-ranked Cardinals (39-11, 22-4 GLIAC) fell 10-0 in five innings to the Lakers (24-24, 15-11 GLIAC) in game one before earning a 3-0 shutout win in game two.
GAME 1: GVSU 10 – SVSU 0 (5 Innings)
The SVSU bats struggled against the GVSU defense as Ella Schneider was the only Cardinal to register a hit in the game, while four runners were left stranded in the game-one loss.
SVSU threatened early with the bases loaded and two out in the first inning, but couldn't capitalize on the scoring chance.
One hit and a Cardinal error contributed to four runs for Grand Valley in the home half of the second as the home team moved out in front, 4-0.
Two more runs were on the board for GVSU in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth as the Cardinals couldn't generate another scoring opportunity before the game was concluded.
Schneider was 1-for-2 at the plate in the game. Aalana Kimble (L, 17-4) started in the circle and went 3.0 innings with five strikeouts in the losing effort. Grace Schloop and Delaney Conley came in in relief.
GAME 2: SVSU 3 – GVSU 0
The SVSU offense woke up in game two with Olivia Elliott hitting an RBI double to right field with two outs to score Kimble and give the Cardinals a quick 1-0 lead after the first inning.
Macy Irelan (W, 17-3) completed her fifth shutout victory as the starting pitcher. She went the distance with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. Irelan has won in her last 12 starts and gained her 17th win of the season.
Kate Pnacek doubled down the left-field line to get on base in the second, and Kimble brought her home with an RBI single through the right side two batters later for the 2-0 lead.
Natalie Savage hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Emma Bolding in the top of the fourth to give SVSU its final run of the game and what would be the final score of 3-0 in game two.
The Lakers threatened in the home half of the fourth with Kenedy Coombe reaching third base after pinch running for Elizabeth Wesoloski after her double put her in scoring position with just one out. The Cardinals got out of the jam with two infield pop outs and kept hold of the shutout through four frames.
SVSU had a similar situation in the fifth with a runner on third base with one out, but a pop out to the pitcher and a foul out to the catcher ended the inning prematurely.
Grand Valley had two more scoring opportunities, each with two outs, in the fifth and sixth innings, but SVSU recorded the final out with no damage being done and held on for the victory to split the doubleheader.
Ella Reifschneider and Pnacek finished with two hits in game two to lead in that category. Pnacek scored a run as well to contribute to the win. Kimble scored a run and an RBI with one hit.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals conclude the regular season tomorrow with a conference doubleheader against Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Indiana, beginning at noon ET. SVSU has already locked up the top seed in the GLIAC Tournament, which is set to begin next week on Thursday, May 1.