BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team improved to 4-0 in GLIAC play after sweeping Ferris State on Tuesday afternoon. The Cardinals (14-8, 4-0 GLIAC) defeated the Bulldogs (16-13, 2-2 GLIAC) 4-2 in game one and 6-1 in game two.
GAME 1: SVSU 4 – FSU 2
SVSU threatened early, loading the bases in the top half of the first inning, but the Ferris State defense escaped the inning unscathed and kept the game scoreless through one.
That changed in the second when Ella Reifschneider (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS) led things off with an infield single to get on base. Ella Schneider (Southfield, Mich. / Berkley HS) then doubled to center field to score Reifschneider and take the 1-0 lead early.
Aalana Kimble (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood HS) hit an infield single to get on base, which set up a double steal opportunity that scored Schneider to double the lead at two runs.
The same situation happened again in the third with Evelynn Rybicki (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) pinch running at first and Kate Pnacek (Coleman, Mich. / Coleman HS) on third, scoring on the double steal to push the lead to 3-0.
The Bulldogs cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning with a double to left field that scored two runs to trim the advantage to just a single score, 3-2.
Reifschneider struck again with an RBI groundout that scored Emily Schmeltz (Union, Ky. / Cooper HS) for the game's final tally, 4-2.
Kimble (W, 7-3) got the start in the circle and went the full seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out five batters. She also led the team offensively with two hits in her three at-bats. She got on base two more times with walks. Jenna Morse (Bay City, Mich. / Bay City Central HS), Rybicki, Reifschneider, Schneider, and Pnacek all recorded hits. Schmeltz, Reifschneider, Schneider, and Pnacek tallied runs, while Reifschneider and Schneider collected an RBI.
GAME 2: SVSU 6 – FSU 1
Rybicki got things going in game two with a single to left field in the second inning that brought Reifschneider and Morse home for a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs responded in the home half with a groundout scoring a runner from third base to cut the Cardinal lead to 2-1.
Kimble extended the lead in the fourth with her second hit of the game. This one was a single to right field that scored Reifschneider, giving the team a two-run lead.
Mya Purdy (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS) added another with a sacrifice to score Pnacek after she led off the inning with a triple.
The final two runs of the game came in the top of the seventh. The first was due to a Bulldog error that gave Rybicki home plate and the Cardinals a 5-1 lead. The last run came off another double steal that scored Pnacek and put the score at its final place of 6-1.
Kimble again led things offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI to bring her two-game total to 5-for-7 with an RBI and two walks. Rybicki, Pnacek, Kenzie Bromley (Petoskey, Mich. / Petoskey HS), and Reifschneider recorded a hit in game two. Rybicki had a team-high two RBI in the contest.
Macy Irelan (Owosso, Mich. / Owosso HS) (W, 6-4) earned her sixth win of the season with her seventh complete game of the season. She gave up just one hit and one run, while striking out two Bulldog batters.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will return home to host Roosevelt in the team's first home games of the year on Saturday, March 28. Game one against the Lakers begins at 1:00 p.m. (ET).