April 29, 2006

Game One Stats | Game Two Stats

Fairborn, Ohio - It took 18 innings and 608 pitches before Cleveland State was finally able to claim a doubleheader sweep at Wright State on Saturday (April 29) afternoon. The Vikings won the first game, 6-3, before taking a see-saw, 6-5, decision in the night cap. With the win, CSU improves to 33-10 and 12-5 in the Horizon League, good for a one-game lead over second-place UIC.

CSU jumped on top early in the opener, scoring a pair of runs in its first at-bat on a Christa Coppus groundout and an illegal pitch. However, the Raiders (6-33, 6-9 HL) battled back to knot the score at 2-2 with single runs in the second and fifth innings.

The Vikings broke the game open with four runs in the top of the sixth. Michele Penney led things off with her fourth home run of the year, and J.J. Thornberry followed with her sixth dinger. CSU plated another run on a perfectly-executed double steal and Michelle Nicholas closed out the frame with an RBI double.

Grace Luginbuhl held WSU in check over the first five innings -- allowing just one earned run -- before running into problems in the sixth. After retiring the first batter, she gave up a hit and three straight walks.

However, Kortney Spidell induced two-straight come-backers to the circle and then retired the side in the ninth to earn her first save of the season.

Luginbuhl gave up four hits and a pair of earned runs in 5.1 innings to improve to 20-6 on the year. She joins Amy Kyler (24 wins in 1997) as the only pitchers in school history to top the 20-win plateau.

Jessie Granger (5-22) took the loss after surrendering seven hits and five runs in 5.1 innings of work.

Penney finished the game going 3-for-4, while Whitney Willard and Spidell each collected a pair of hits.

The Vikings began game two in similar fashion to the opener, when Coppus tripled in Willard before coming around to score on an error. The Raiders cut the deficit in half on Melanie McInally's solo home run in the home half of the first.

WSU tied the score at 2-2 in its next at-bat on Krissy Kelser's two-out RBI double. The teams remained deadlocked until the fifth, when Coppus singled with two outs and scored on a RBI double by Penney.

The lead was short-lived though, as Amanda Cody homered in the bottom of the sixth to draw the Raiders even at 3-3. CSU had its chances to break the tie late in the game but came up empty, leaving six runners stranded in the fifth through seventh innings. WSU nearly made the futility costly, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh before the Vikings turned a double play on a line-out and induced an inning-ending ground out to wriggle out of the jam.

After both teams went relatively quietly in the eighth and ninth innings, they provided some fireworks in the 10th. Spidell blasted a two-run shot in the top half of the frame, only to have McInally answer with her second homer of the game, this time with a runner on.

In the 11th, Luginbuhl led off with a bunt single, moved to second on a sacrifice and came around to score when the Raider left fielder dropped a Penney pop-up.

Luginbuhl then took the circle in the bottom of the inning, allowing just a walk en route to collecting her second save of the season.

Spidell scattered 10 hits over 10 innings -- throwing 139 pitches in the process -- to move to 11-3 on the year with her sixth-consecutive victory. She also finished the day going 4-for-6 at the plate.

Granger (5-23) was the hard-luck loser, giving up 12 hits and four earned runs on 194 pitches.

Coppus finished the game with a perfect 5-for-5 effort that included two doubles and a triple.

The teams meet on Sunday (April 30) for the final game of the series with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.