April 15, 2010
Final Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Cleveland State was limited to just one hit and the Fighting Irish hit three home runs and No. 24 Notre Dame defeated the Vikings, 8-0, in six innings on Thursday afternoon at Melissa Cook Stadium.
The game was a rematch of last year's NCAA regional game that Notre Dame won, 3-1.
CSU dropped to 28-10 on the year while Notre Dame improved to 32-6.
"I don't think the final score is reflective of our effort today," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "Notre Dame is a good team, they were playing at home and they played well. We needed to have our "A" game today and we just weren't there.
"I thought we hit the ball well, but we hit the ball right at people. To think that we were held to one hit doesn't seem realistic but they pitched well and we didn't take advantage of our opportunities.
"Defensively, we were just a step slow today. We made some very nice stops, but Notre Dame's team speed turned them into hits before we could complete the play," Nicholson added.
The Vikings recorded their lone hit in the first when Tess Sito singled up the middle with one out and Katelyn Ciminelli sacrificed Sito to second. The inning ended however when Lia Gordon lined out to second.
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead in the second when Dani Miller hit a solo home run to left center, her sixth long ball of the season.
The Vikings had a rally going in the fourth when Sito and Ciminelli both walked to open the inning, causing the Irish to go to their bullpen to relieve starter Brittany O'Donnell with ace Jody Valdivia.
Gordon appeared to have sacrificed the runners to second and third but was called for being out of the baselines when the throw from home to first hit her in the head. The runners were forced to return to first and second and Dara Toman struck out and Gabby Gillilan fouled out to third to end the inning.
Notre Dame made it 2-0 in the fourth with Miller singled home Katie Fleury, who had reached on an error.
The Irish strung together four singles in the fifth, leading to three runs that pushed the lead to 5-0.
Kristina Wright extended the lead to 7-0 in the sixth with a two-run HR to center and Brianna Jorgensborg followed with a solo home run to left center to end the game.
Amanda Macenko went the distance for CSU, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits to slip to 22-10 on the year. Valdivia retired all nine batters she faced to get the win, improving to 25-3 on the year.
The Vikings continue on their current nine-game road swing when they play three games over the weekend at Green Bay, playing a 2:00 p.m doubleheader on Saturday (April 17) and a single game at 12 noon on Sunday (April 18). CSU is currently in first place in the Horizon League standings with an 8-1 mark.
