ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team claimed its fourth-consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament championship after an 8-0 win over Parkside on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals (43-12) scored five runs in the sixth inning to grab the victory and claim the tournament title.
Aalana Kimble (W, 18-5) got the start in the circle and was dominant with 6.0 innings of work to earn her 18th win of the season, fifth shutout. She allowed just two hits, no runs, and struck out two for her 13th complete game.
Lillia Sherman (2-for-4), Mya Purdy (2-for-3), and Kate Pnacek (2-for-3) recorded two hits for SVSU in the win. Sherman and Pnacek recorded an RBI, while Pnacek scored a run as well. Purdy scored a run while Ella Schneider (1-for-2) scored twice. Kimble (1-for-3) also helped her own cause with an RBI and two runs in the contest.
Kimble got things going with a single up the middle in the bottom half of the first inning. She moved to second on a ground out before Lillia Sherman brought her home on another single up the middle for the early 1-0 lead.
The Rangers (29-24) struggled to get their offense going, moving just one runner to scoring position. That opportunity came in the fourth when a Cardinal error gave Haley Remington first base. She moved to second on the next play, but was stranded there for the next two outs.
Purdy singled to right field in the home half of the fourth and scored two plays later on Schneider's single through the left side to double the SVSU advantage, 2-0. Pnacek hit an RBI single to center field that scored Schneider, and the Cardinals held a 3-0 lead after four frames of play.
Jenna Morse and Schneider walked, and Pnacek hit a single to load the bases for SVSU in the sixth inning. Natalie Savage scored Morse with a single through the right side. Kimble then walked to push Schneider across the plate, and a fielder's choice to get the out at third scored Pnacek to bring the lead to 6-0 with one out. Emma Helvie reached on a dropped fly in right field, and the resulting play opened up runs from Kimble and Reifschneider to end the game.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals earn the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament and will wait for the selection show airing tomorrow morning (Monday, May 5) at 10:00 a.m. ET, for their matchup.
