ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team swept Roosevelt on the road on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals (25-11, 13-2 GLIAC) took game one by a score of 5-0 before ending game two in five innings with a 10-0 win.
GAME 1: SVSU 5 – Roosevelt 0
Game one was highlighted by the performance of Aalana Kimble (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood HS) in the circle, as she recorded her second no-hitter of the season after going the full seven innings. Kimble (W, 10-5) struck out eight Laker hitters and walked two others in a dominant performance. She joins Macy Irelan as the only Cardinal pitchers to record two no-hitters in a single season.
Kimble got things going in the top of the first inning with a single up the middle to get on base for SVSU. She would score two plays later off a wild pitch after an error moved her to third base.
Mya Purdy (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS) scored on a double steal to double the Cardinal lead to 2-0 in the opening frame. Jenna Morse (Bay City, Mich. / Bay City Central HS) scored on a second Laker error to move the lead to 3-0.
Kate Pnacek (Coleman, Mich. / Coleman HS) ended the scoring in the first with an RBI single up the middle that brought Ella Reifschneider (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS) across the plate for the 4-0 lead early.
A third error by Roosevelt in the third inning gave the Cardinals another run, and the lead moved to 5-0, where it would stay for the remainder of the contest.
Purdy finished 2-for-2 at the plate with a run scored to lead SVSU offensively in the first contest. Ella Schneider (Southfield, Mich. / Berkley HS), Pnacek, and Kimble recorded a hit for the Cardinals, with Pnacek and Reifschneider recording an RBI.
GAME 2: SVSU 10 – Roosevelt 0
Kimble (W, 11-5) got the start in game two and earned her 11th win of the season. She went 4.0 innings and surrendered two hits, while walking one and striking out another. She completed the afternoon with 11.0 innings pitched, two hits, no runs, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
Just like she started game one, Kimble got on base in game two with a single up the middle to lead things off. Purdy blasted a triple with the bases loaded to score Reifschneider, Elliott, and Sherman for the 3-0 lead after one.
Sherman scored Natalie Savage (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS) with a single to right field in the second to extend the lead to 4-0. Another double steal in the third put the fifth run on the board for SVSU.
Kenzie Bromley (Petoskey, Mich. / Petoskey HS) hit her third home run of the season with a solo shot to center field that led off the top of the fifth inning and pushed the lead to 6-0. Elliott doubled a few plays later to score Morse, Kimble, and Savage as the gap widened to 9-0 with two outs. The final run came on a throwing error by the Lakers that scored Emily Beckas (Troy, Mich. / Avondale HS).
Two walks and a groundout put runners on second and third for Roosevelt in the home half of the fifth, but SVSU secured the final out to end the game early with the double-digit lead.
Elliott went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and three RBI to lead the Cardinals in game two. Savage was also perfect at the plate with two hits and two runs in her two appearances. Kimble finished with two hits and a run to finish her fantastic afternoon. Sherman, Purdy, and Bromley tallied a hit. Sherman and Bromley recorded one run and one RBI, while Purdy matched Elliott with the team-high three RBI.
Delaney Conley (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS) closed out the game with the final inning inside the circle. She walked two, but kept Roosevelt off the board in her relief effort.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will head home to begin a three-game homestand beginning on Saturday, April 18, against Davenport. The doubleheader against the Panthers will begin at 1:00 p.m. (ET).