UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team needed two games on Friday to punch their ticket to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, next week. The Cardinals (48-13) fell to the Greyhounds (42-23) 9-0 in five innings in the first game of the day before a 6-5 comeback win in a deciding game three crowned the Cardinals Midwest Regional Champions to be one of the eight remaining teams to play for a National Championship.
GAME 2: UIndy 9, SVSU 0 (5 Innings), Series Tied 1-1
Saginaw Valley State struggled against UIndy ace Cheyenne Eads in game two. The Cardinals managed one hit, a single by Kenzie Bromley, and the Greyhounds were able to use a six-run first inning to earn a 9-0 win after five innings.
Ella Reifschneider walked in the first, and Bromley (1-for-2) hit a single to left field to move her to second, but both were stranded on base after a strikeout and a ground out.
UIndy added a three-run home run in the fourth to push the lead to 9-0 and force a winner-take-all game three.
GAME 3: SVSU 6, UIndy 5 – SVSU MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
The Greyhounds started hot with five hits and two runs in the opening frame of game three, before adding three more in the top half of the third for a 5-0 advantage.
Aalana Kimble got on base with a walk, and Reifschneider singled to left field to put two on with one out in the bottom of the third. Olivia Elliott was hit by a pitch to load the bases and set up Jenna Morse with the opportunity to bring home some runs for the Cardinals. Morse hit a sacrifice fly to left field for one, and Emma Helvie singled to center field for another to trim the UIndy lead to 5-2 just under the halfway mark in the game.
Kimble brought SVSU closer with her first career home run hit over the right field fence to put the score at 5-3. That solo shot broke the single-season team home run record, bringing the total to 49. Morse walked with two out,s and Helvie followed suit to put two on with two outs as Mya Purdy stepped to the plate. Purdy smacked a single to right field to score Morse and cut the deficit to just one run, and forced the Greyhounds to switch pitchers with Jayden Casebolt (L, 13-7) entering the circle to replace Eads.
Kate Pnacek led off the sixth inning by adding another home run to the team total to tie the score at five runs. Natalie Savage then stepped up and drove a third home run over the fence to move the score to 6-5, Cardinals with no outs in the inning. Eads reentered the game following Savage's home run. She walked Kimble before getting the three outs to escape the inning with just a one-run difference on the scoreboard.
The Cardinal defense sealed the win with Pnacek making a diving catch in right center field for the first out, Macy Irelan (W, 22-3) recording a swinging strikeout for out two, and Pnacek grabbing a second fly ball in the inning to end the game.
Kimble was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI in the game. Savage was 1-for-3 and came into the series with only one home run this season, and hit two more on back-to-back days to clinch both wins for SVSU. Pnacek's only hit was her solo homerun before Savage's and Reifschneider also recorded a hit in her four at-bats. Purdy had a hit, a walk, and an RBI to contribute to the win.
Irelan went the full seven innings for her 23rd complete game to earn the win. She allowed seven hits and five runs with three strikeouts on the day.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals become one of eight regional champions that will meet in Chattanooga, Tennessee to compete in the NCAA Division II softball championship. The final double elimination tournament will begin on Thursday, May 22 and run through Wednesday, May 28.
