April 6, 2010
Final Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio. - Amanda Macenko allowed just one hit in 11 innings of work, including a five-inning no-hitter in the nightcap to register her 97th and 98th career victories at Cleveland State as the Vikings swept Detroit, 12-4 in six innings and 10-0 in five innings on Tuesday night at Viking Field.
The sweep improves CSU to 23-8 on the year and the Vikings moved into second place in the league standings with a 4-1 mark. Detroit has now lost 13 straight to slip to 2-18 overall and 0-8 in league play.
"This is exactly what we needed to do today," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We need to be able to play our kind of game when we face the teams in the league that we should beat, and with just a few little blips, we did that today.
"We got some timely hits, ran the bases well, played solid defense and took advantage of some good pitching today. When we do all of that, then we are a very difficult team to beat."
The balance in the Viking lineup was evident as all 11 players who played in the doubleheader both scored at least one run and drove one in during the sweep.
Macenko dominated in the circle in game one, allowing just one base runner in the first four innings, striking out 11 of the first 13 batters with the other out coming on a ground ball to the pitcher.
While Macenko was setting the Titans down in order, CSU was building a 7-0 lead.
Tess Sito opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first to score Jessica Burt. Burt had walked and stolen both second and third, giving her 21 steals in as many attempts this season. For Sito, it was her 12th long ball of the season, leaving her one shy of teammate Lia Gordon's school record set last year.
CSU made it 3-0 on an Alicia Nichols RBI single in the second and then plated three more in the third on an RBI single by Gabby Gillian and ground ball outs by Mimi Mahon and Amy Powell.
Megan Bashak made it 7-0 when she hit a one-out double to center. She then stole third and came in to score when the throw from catcher Jessica Liebner sailed down the left field line.
Nicholson went to the bullpen in the fourth, removing Macenko in favor of Kala Allred, but Allred allowed all three runners to reach base as part of a four-run Detroit fifth inning. Nicholson put Macenko into the lineup after just three batters and the senior allowed an unearned run in the fifth before shutting striking out the side in the sixth.
Leading 7-4, the Viking bats came alive in the fifth, scoring three runs.
After Mahon led off with a single, Gillian followed with a line drive single to left that got by the Titan left fielder and went all the way to the wall allowing Mahon to score from first and Gillian end up on third. Gillian then scored on a wild pitch. The final run scored on back-to-back triples by Burt and Bashak.
The eight-run mercy rule as invoked in the sixth when Powell stroked her second HR of the season to left with two outs, putting CSU ahead 12-4 and ending the game.
Macenko struck out 15 batters and allowed just one hit in recording the win.
"Amanda was just dominant in the circle tonight," Nicholson said. "By her standards, she had a poor outing in her last game and she was focused and ready tonight. She hit her spots well, kept the ball down and didn't let Detroit get around on her."
As good as Macenko was in the opener, she was even better in the nightcap, allowing just one base runner and facing the minimum number of batters in recording her first no-hitter as a Viking.
The only runner came with one out in the second when she hit shortstop Rachel Copple. One batter later, Copple was picked off first base after Katie Schaus struck out and Powell gunned down Copple, who had broken for second, at first base to end the inning.
The Vikings got all the runs they needed in the third when Lia Gordon hit a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs.
CSU closed out the win with seven runs on seven hits in the fourth. The Vikings loaded the bases with no out and freshman Macall Sheppard promptly emptied them with a three-run triple to center to make it 6-0.
Burt, who had a double and two triples in the twinbill, followed with a triple to right center to score Sheppard. After a walk and stolen base by Bashak to put runners at second and third, Sito drove in Burt with a sacrifice fly to center and Katelyn Ciminelli drove in the final run on a single.
The wins pushed Macenko to 18-8 on the year. Already the CSU career record holder for wins, she now needs just two more wins to reach the 100 win mark for her career.
Macenko will get her chance to record win number 99 on Wednesday when CSU hosts Detroit at 1:00 p.m. at Viking Field in the final game of the three game series.
