March 12, 2006

Fairleigh Dickinson Stats | Fairfield Stats

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Cleveland State kicked off its five-day stint at the Rebel Spring Games in stellar fashion, blanking Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, and Fairfield, 2-0. At 5-1 on the year, the Vikings matched the 1982 and 1997 squads for the best six-game start in school history.

In the opener, Grace Luginbuhl out-dueled FDU's Ashley Buchanan to improve to 2-1 on the year. Both pitchers surrendered just two hits in a defensive battle.

Luginbuhl carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning when the leadoff batter lined a clean single to left field. Two batters later, CSU got out of a first-and-third jam by turning a 5-6-8-2 double play on an attempted squeeze bunt.

The Vikings had scored the game's only run an inning earlier when J.J. Thornberry led off with a walk. Pinch runner Amanda Kern stole second, advanced to third on a Luginbuhl sacrifice and came around to score when Kortney Spidell singled through the right side.

CSU jumped out in front of Fairfield in the top of the first inning. Amber Lowe led off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michelle Nicholas. Following a passed ball, she scored on the back end of a double steal.

The Vikings tacked on an insurance run in the fifth when Kaitlin Guyette led off with a triple and scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Meanwhile, Spidell tossed her second straight shutout, extending her scoreless streak to 15.1 innings. She scattered four hits and only allowed one runner to reach second base.

"We got it done today with our pitching and defense," head coach Julie Jones said. "We didn't really hit the ball all that well, but overall I was pleased with our effort. Hopefully we can get things going at the plate as the week goes on."

Cleveland State continues play at the Rebel Spring Games with a pair of contests on Monday (March 13). The Vikings will face Iona at 10:40 a.m. followed by a 2:20 p.m. tilt with Saint Louis.