DAVIE, Fla. – The No. 5 Saginaw Valley State University softball team split its first two games of the 2026 season at Nova Southeastern on Friday. The Cardinals (1-1) fell to the Sharks (3-5), 8-0, in six innings in game one before taking game two, 6-1.
GAME 1: NSU 8 – SVSU 0 (6 Innings)
The Sharks took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after scoring on a triple to center field and a sacrifice fly to right.
A home run extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 3rd-inning, and another run was given with an error by the Cardinals in the fourth to bring the score to 4-0 with three innings remaining.
Another error in the sixth put a run on the board, and NSU tallied four scores in the inning to end the game early with an 8-0 decision.
Aalana Kimble (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood HS), Ella Reifschneider (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS), Lillia Sherman (Millington, Mich.), Olivia Elliott (Baroda, Mich.), Mya Purdy (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS), and Evelynn Rybicki (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) recorded a hit for Saginaw Valley State.
Macy Irelan (L, 0-1) (Owosso, Mich.) went 4.0 innings in her first start of the season. She struck out five batters, but surrendered six hits and four runs, three earned, in the contest. Elliott pitched one inning in relief and recorded a strikeout. Makenzie Cammenga (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS) got her first collegiate appearance in the final inning.
Game 2: SVSU 6 – NSU 1
Three-straight singles loaded the bases for SVSU in the first inning of game two. Kimble got things going with a single up the middle, Reifschneider then hit an infield single, before Purdy singled to left field. Elliott remained patient at the plate and earned a walk and an RBI as she scored Kimble for the 1-0 lead.
Jenna Morse (Bay City, Mich.) was hit by a pitch to move Reifschneider across the plate and double the advantage to 2-0 through the first frame.
Morse returned in the fourth to single down the third-base line to lead things off. She stole second to get into scoring position before two walks put her on third as the bases were loaded again. Kimble took advantage with her second single of the game, this one to left center, and scored both Kenzie Bromley (Petoskey, Mich.) and Morse to double the SVSU lead to 4-0. Purdy busted a two-out triple to left center two batters later to score Kimble and Natalie Savage (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS) and the Cardinals led 6-0 going into the home half of the 4th-inning.
Nova Southeastern prevented the shutout with a two-out, RBI-single up the middle in the bottom of the 7th-inning to trim the lead to 6-1, but the Cardinals got the final out to split the doubleheader.
Kimble finished game two 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Kimble (W, 1-0) started for SVSU in the circle and earned her first win with a complete game performance where she allowed five hits and totaled six strikeouts. Purdy also went 3-for-4 with two RBI that included a triple for the junior shortstop. Reifschneider (1-for-3), Morse (1-for-3), and Faith Maloney (1-for-1) (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) recorded a hit for the Cardinals in game two.
UP NEXT: The team remains in Florida through the weekend with a meeting against No. 17 Barry and No. 16 East Stroudsburg tomorrow in Miami Shores, Fla. The Cardinals will face the Buccaneers at 10 AM before meeting the Warriors at 1:30 p.m. (ET).