MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split its final two games in Florida for the Spring Break trip. The Cardinals (8-8) fell to St. Cloud State 3-2 in game one before defeating Bentley 9-0 in six innings in the nightcap.

GAME 1: St. Cloud State 3 – SVSU 2

Both teams scored a run in the third inning, with the Huskies (17-4) scored on a single to left field in the top half of the inning for a early lead.

SVSU responded with a single to center field from Lillia Sherman (Millington, Mich. / Millington HS) that scored Natalie Savage (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS) to knot things up.

Emily Beckas (Troy, Mich. / Avondale HS) took the lead for the Cardinals in the bottom half of the fifth when she stole home to put the score at 2-1.

A two-run single to right field in the top of the sixth for St. Cloud State proved to be the difference in the game as the score sat at 3-2 through the final two innings of play.

Aalana Kimble (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood HS), Mya Purdy (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS), and Emma Helvie (Markle, Ind. / Huntington North HS) led the way with two hits for SVSU. Sherman (1-for-4) recorded the only RBI for Saginaw Valley State in the losing effort.

Kimble (L, 4-3) pitched all seven innings for the Cardinals. She surrendered eight hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts in the appearance.

GAME 2: SVSU 9 – Bentley 0 (6-Innings)

Helvie got things going in game two with a double to right field that scored Emma Bolding (Greenfield, Ind. / Eastern Hancock HS) for the 1-0 lead in the opening frame.

Savage brought home the insurance run in the second with a single to right field that scored Purdy.

The score remained the same through three innings before Evelynn Rybicki (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) hit a single to left field to allow Lauren Evans (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft HS) across the plate for the three-run lead.

Faith Maloney (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) stole home on the next play to push the advantage to 4-0, before Ella Reifschneider (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS) hit an infield single to score Rybicki and to widen the margin to 5-0.

 An error by the Buccaneers brought pinch runners Delaney Conley (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS) and Anna Palmiter (Brandon, Mich. / Brandon HS) across the plate for the first of four runs in the top half of the sixth.

Grace Schloop (Midland, Mich. / Midland HS) singled to center field on the next play to score both Rybicki and Maloney for the final runs of the frame.

Helvie and Purdy had two hits for the second game of the day. Ella Schneider (Southfield, Mich. / Berkley HS) also recorded two hits to help lead the Cardinal bats. Schloop finished with a hit and a team-high two RBI. Bolding, Maloney, Emily Schmeltz (Union, Ky. / Cooper HS), Rybicki, Savage, Reifschneider, and Schloop registered a hit in the win.

Macy Irelan (Owosso, Mich. / Owosso HS) (W, 3-4) completed the game in the circle for the Cardinals. She struckout nine hitters and gave up just one hit in the shutout win.

UP NEXT: The Cardinals return to Michigan before taking a trip to Ohio to face Findlay in a doubleheader on Thursday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).