May 11, 2006

Final Stats

CANFIELD, Ohio - Cleveland State senior Kortney Spidell made sure that the second-seeded Vikings weren't going home on Thursday night, tossing a seven-hit shutout as CSU eliminated No. 3 Detroit from the Horizon League Championship by a 6-0 score. The Vikings will face either No. 1 UIC or No. 4 UW-Green Bay at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (May 12) in another loser's bracket contest.

Spidell retired the Titans in order just once, but received solid defensive support en route to improving to 12-3 on the year with her fifth shutout.

Junior Michele Penney got the Vikings (36-14) on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-out, two-run home run, her fifth of the season. Senior J.J. Thornberry increased the margin to 3-0 with her team-leading seventh homer to lead off the fourth.

CSU took advantage of some sloppy Detroit defense -- the Titans (17-28) committed seven errors in the steady rain -- to tack on three more runs down the stretch.

"Tonight we got back to what made us successful all year long -- good pitching and taking advantage of what other teams give us," CSU head coach Julie Jones said. "Kortney really stepped up when we needed her most."

Sarah Milosek scored a pair of runs for the Vikings, while Whitney Willard extended her hitting streak to nine games with a fourth-inning single.

Kaleigh Rafter paced Detroit with a pair of hits.

Lindsay Roy gave up six hits and six runs (four earned) to fall to 8-7.