ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team advanced to the final day of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament after defeating Grand Valley State 1-0 in eight innings on Saturday. The Cardinals (42-12) tied the second-most wins in program history with the victory and will have to be beaten twice tomorrow to not claim their fourth consecutive tournament title.

Mya Purdy led the Cardinal offense as she went 2-for-3 from the plate, including a double in the eighth inning that set up her scoring the walk-off run in the eighth inning to propel SVSU to the tournament's final day. Lillia Sherman entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 2-for-2 in her plate appearances.

Macy Irelan (W, 18-3) had another stellar performance as she went the full 8.0 innings and struck out eight Lakers (27-25) in the process of earning her sixth shutout victory of the season. Irelan gave up two hits and walked one in the winning effort.

Both pitchers were dominant in the game as neither team could threaten much through the first seven innings of play. The Lakers had only two runners reach scoring position, with one reaching second in the second and another getting to third in the sixth. Sherman was the first Cardinal to get on base with her double to right center in the bottom of the fourth.

Purdy was next with her double to left field, which led off the eighth inning. An error by the Lakers put Kate Pnacek on base before a throwing error on the next play pushed Purdy home for the game-winning run.

UP NEXT: The Cardinals will face Parkside in the championship game tomorrow, May 4, at noon ET. The Rangers eliminated Wayne State and Grand Valley State to survive and advance to the final day. The Rangers must defeat SVSU twice to win the GLIAC tournament title.