April 3, 2008
Game One Box|Game Two Box
Contact: Brian McCann
MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. - Cleveland State fell behind by four or more runs in both games but late-inning Viking rallies nearly produced a sweep as Robert Morris and CSU split a doubleheader on Thursday (April 3) at the North Athletic Complex on the RMU campus. The Colonials won the opener, 7-5, with the Vikings claiming the nightcap, 7-6 in 10 innings.
"This wasn't one of our better days," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We can't continue to fall behind by large deficits and expect to be able to come back like we did today.
"Still, it was great to see our kids refuse to quit and go out and fight and scrap to get back into the game. That is a good sign.
The Vikings (13-7) fell behind early in the opener as Robert Morris (10-12) used five singles - including three that never left the infield -- and an error to score five runs in the second inning.
CSU closed to within 5-1 when Christa Coppus hit a solo shot to right, her second homerun of the season.
The Colonials extended their lead to 7-1 on a two-out, two-run double in the fourth by Lauren Nisivoccia.
A Haley Keller grand slam to center with nobody out in the seventh pulled the Vikings to within 7-5 and CSU put the game-tying run on base with nobody out before a a ground ball out and a strikeout ended the contest.
Amanda Macenko was the hard-luck loser to fall to 9-6. She went six innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits, striking out seven without walking anybody.
"Amanda did her job today but didn't get anything for it," Nicholson said. "She kept throwing ground ball out and ground ball out but we didn't make the plays behind her."
The nightcap had a similar beginning as Kala Allred started for CSU but couldn't get out of the first inning, allowing three runs, all earned, on two hits with a pair of walks in a third of an inning.
The Vikings used back-to-back doubles by Amanda Houchin and Amy Powell to close to within 3-1 in the second but the Colonials added single runs in the third and sixth to build a 5-1 lead.
The CSU comeback came again in the seventh. Haley Keller opened the inning by being safe on an error and Houchin singled to drive home her home to cut the lead to 5-2. After back-to-back ground ball outs, Jessica Burt walked and Whitney Willard was safe on an infield single to score Houchin with the runners advancing to second and third Young followed with a single to right to score Burt and Willard to tie the game.
Young was at it again in the ninth when she singled with two outs to score Burt and give the Vikings a 6-5 lead. CSU couldn't close it out however as Jessica Calderone's two out single evened the score at 6-6.
The international tiebreaker took affect in the 10th, putting a runner on second base for each team to start every inning.
Andrea Nagy ran at second for CSU and Christa Coppus opened the frame by walking. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch and Keller singled to drive Nagy in with the go-ahead run. After Houchin popped out, the Viking rally came to an end when Powell flew out to right field and Coppus was thrown out trying to score.
Macenko came on to pitch the 10th for CSU, setting Robert Morris down in order to earn her third save of the year.
Bate threw eight inning of relief to improve to 2-0 on the year, allowing three runs on eight hits. She struck out six and walked just one.
"Brittany threw a nice game in relief," Nicholson said. "She really took advantage of the opportunity when Kayla struggled in the first inning. She got a little bit of a slow start but really came on strong and kept us in the game."
The Vikings had a number of offensive standouts in the doubleheader.
Willard had three hits in the two games to extend her hitting streak to nine games, the longest by a Viking this year.
Young, who hit in the No. 9 spot in the order for most of the year, was moved up to the No. 2 slot and responded by going three-for-five with three RBI in the nightcap.
Keller drove in five runs on three hits to raise her team-leading RBI total to 17 and Amanda Houchin appeared to break out of a slump by going two-for-five with a pair of RBI in the nightcap.
The Vikings will take Friday off before opening the 2008 home schedule with a three-game series against Butler over the weekend. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday (April 5) and a single game on Sunday (April 6) with action beginning each day at 1:00 p.m. at Viking Field.
