April 10, 2008
Game 1 Stats| Game 2 Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Amanda Macenko allowed just eight hits in recording a pair of complete game victories as Cleveland State swept Detroit, 1-0 and 6-1 on Thursday at Viking Field.
The wins raised CSU's record to 18-9 overall and moved the Vikings into second place in the Horizon League standings with a 6-2 mark, one game behind UIC (7-1) and a half-game ahead of Wright State (5-2). Detroit drops to 7-18 overall and 1-7 in league play.
"This was a pretty good day for us," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We did what we needed to do to win, especially in the first game, kept our mistakes to a minimum until our bats came alive later in the day.
"These were two games that we needed to win because anytime you play a team in the bottom half of the league, you have to win if you want to compete for the title.
The first game was a pitcher's dual between Macenko and Detroit's Kelli Short, who combined to allow just seven hits while striking out 13.
Each team had several opportunities to put a run on the board early in the game, but it wasn't until the seventh when Danielle Young, who had three of CSU's four hits in the game, singled home pinch runner Amanda Kern for the game-winning run with two outs.
Natalaie DeMatteis opened the inning with a single with Kern replacing her on the bases. With one out, Kern stole second. After Willard flew out to right for the second out, Young dropped a line drive single into center with Kern beating easily scoring from second.
"Danielle had a really strong game at the plate and it was no surprise that she came up with the big hit with two outs in the seventh. She had hit that way all season," Nicholson said.
Macenko was outstanding, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. She retired 12 of the final 13 batters, allowing only a one out double to Kelli Short in the fifth.
"Amanda continues to get better and better," Nicholson said. "She threw a couple of bad pitches early in the game but the tighter the game got, the better she was. Detroit really had no scoring opportunities over the second half of the game.
The Viking bats came alive in the nightcap as CSU belted out 13 hits, matching a season high with six extra base hits.
CSU opened the scoring in the third when Jessica Burt and Whitney Willard opened the inning with back-to-back singles and then perfectly executed a double steal. With one out, Burt scored when Amanda Houchin layed down a sacrifice bunt that Titan first baseman Caitlin McPartlin had no play on but to first. Christa Coppus followed with a triple to the fence in right center to score Willard.
The Vikings extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Young hit a one-out triple to right center and scored on a single by Houchin.
Detroit ended the shutout in the sixth when Kristen Schlater singled and came around to score on Courtney Gill's double.
Cleveland State broke the game wide-open with three runs in the sixth. Shaylan Adams led off with a pinch hit single and DeMatteis doubled to left center, sending Adams to third. Both runners scored on Haley Keller's double to the fence in right center. Tara Meyer pinch ran for Keller and scored on a single by Willard.
"The second game showed how good we are capable of being when everybody goes to the plate and is aggressive," Nicholson said. "I hope that we will be able to continue hitting like that."
Macenko set the Titans down one-two-three in the seventh to finish out the game. She allowed one run on five hits, striking out six without a walk to improve to 13-8 on the season.
The Vikings were a perfect six-for-six in stolen base attempts during the twinbill, stealing three bases in each game. Willard led the way with a pair of thefts to raise her season total to a team-high 13.
Cleveland State heads to Green Bay for a three-game series with the Phoenix this weekend, weather permitting. The two teams are slated to play a doubleheader on Saturday (April 12) before closing the series with a single game on Sunday.
