May 14, 2010
Final Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Execution proved to be the key word for the Vikings on Saturday. Execution almost cost them a chance to advance to the title game of the Horizon League Championship but CSU was able to regroup and execute to defeat Wright State, 3-2, on Friday afternoon at Viking Field.
The victory, which extended CSU's school record for wins in a season, was its 44th of the year and will send the Vikings to the title game on Saturday at 12:00 noon against either Wright State or Valparaiso, who will meet at 10:00 a.m.
"We are one win away from reaching another of our team goals, and it hasn't been easy," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We've had to fight for every out this week but we knew that going in Now we just need to go out and play another strong game and finish this tournament out.
"Our execution was very good today, and some times it hurt us. In the end, our execution at the plate and defensively is what proved to be the difference.
Wright State took a 1-0 lead when Justine Shilt led off the second inning. CSU catcher Amy Powell attempted to pick Shilt off second, but Shilt broke to third on the throw and the ensuing throw from second basebaman Dara Toman hit Shilt and bounded down the left field line, allowing Shilt to score an unearned run.
"We couldn't have executed that play any better, but because we had her at second, she broke for third and we didn't finish the play," Nicholson said.
The Vikings got the run back in the third when CSU loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Megan Bashak and Jessica Burt and a walk to Katelyn Ciminelli. Bashak then came into score on a wild pitch. Wright State pitched out of the jam, getting Lia Gordon to fly out to left and Powell to ground out to second to end the inning.
The Raiders regained the lead in the top of the sixth when they pieced together two singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs Mollie Berry then bounced to pitcher Amanda Macenko, who mishandled the ball for an error, allowing Kristen Bradshaw to score from third to put WSU ahead, 2-1.
"That was an unfortunate play because Amanda didn't have a lot of time to throw because the runner was so quick and she took her eye off the ball for a split second, which was too much," Nicholson said.
The Vikings came right back as Gordon and Gabby Gillilan each singled and went to second and third on a ground out by Powell. Dara Toman walked to load the bases with one out. Mimi Mahon, who had not hit safely in 18 at bats, then lined a single through the right side of the infield to score Gordon to tie the game. One batter later, Jessica Burt drew a walk to drive in the game-winning run.
"Even though Mimi had struggled recently, she is still a senior and late in the season, you have to count on your seniors to come through for you. She got up there and waited for her pitcher and drove it to right field. That's what seniors do," Nicholson said.
"On the walk, Jessica was smart enough to take a couple of pitches and get ahead in the count. Then she protected the plate and put the pressure on the pitcher"
The lead was all the Vikings needed as Macenko shut the Raiders down in the seventh to improve CSU to 27-0 this year, and 76-1 over the last three years, when the Vikings took the lead into the seventh inning.
Macenko who threw the complete game six-hitter, allowed just a pair of unearned runs, striking out nine and walking one to improve to 38-13 on the year. She continues to lead the nation in wins this year while her strikeout total raised her season total to 345, leaving her 11 strikeouts shy of the league record of 366 strikeouts set by UIC's Samantha Iuli in 1999.
Macenko now has 118 career victories, moving her into 18th place on the NCAA career list. She also ranks seventh all-time in game started (165), 10th in games pitched (187), 15th in complete games (133) and 16th in innings pitched (1103.1).
"Amanda was tremendous again today," Nicholson said. "I am running out of ways to describe how well she is throwing. We just know that when she is in the circle, we are going to get a good pitching effort," Nicholson said.
Gordon, a senior who earned first team all-league honors in 2009 but was left off the 2010 squad, was the hitting hero for CSU, recording two of the seven Viking hits. Burt went one-for-two with a pair of walks.
The victory puts CSU into the league title game for the sixth time in the last eight years with the Vikings winning the title only once, in 2009.
In other tournament action on Friday, Green Bay eliminated Butler, 3-2, on a two-run error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and Valparaiso eliminated UIC, 4-3. In the final game of the day, Valparaiso edged Green Bay, 1-0.
For all tournament coverage, log onto either CSUVikings.com or HorizonLeague.org.
