March 26, 2011
Game One Stats
Game Two Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
FAIRBORN, Ohio - Jessica Burt hit a grand slam as part of a five-run Vikings seventh inning but it was not enough as CSU's rally fell just short in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Wright State as CSU split a pair of games played in blistery cold conditions against the Raiders, winning 7-1 in the first game and dropping a 7-6 decision in the nightcap.
The split brings CSU to 12-10 on the year and 1-1 in league play while Wright State is now 12-13 overall and 1-1 in conference action.
"This was a challenging day for us," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "The weather conditions made it difficult to get comfortable and I thought that we didn't take advantage of all of our opportunities at the plate so if it was unfortunate that we split the doubleheader.
"The first game was almost too easy for us because we strung together runs in several big innings but we didn't hit the way that we are capable of doing. Still, we got the win because we got enough hits and our pitching was good. We fell behind early in the second game and our bats didn't come alive until late in the game and by then, we had let Wright State build a sizable lead.
"I was disappointed with our defensive effort in both games. We made three physical errors on plays and several more mental ones that helped Wright State get the lead in the second game and that is unlike us because we are normally making the correct decisions and recording the big out when we need them.
"We need to regroup tonight, talk about what we did wrong today and then go out tomorrow and win the final game of the series," Nicholson said.
After winning the opener rather easily, the Vikings found themselves on the wrong side of a 7-1 score entering the seventh inning. But CSU would rally as Caila Ferro and Alicia Nichols stroked back-to-back singles to open the frame and Megan Bashak walked to load the bases before Jessica Burt would stroke a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left centerfield to pull CSU to within 7-5. Andrea Nagy followed with a triple to right, ending the day for Raider starter Chelsea Contant, who was relieved in the circle by first game starter Krystian DeWitt.
Sito greeted DeWitt with a single to center to score Nagy and close the deficit to 7-6. After Dara Toman struck out for the first out, Amy Powell walked to push Sito to second, and Gabby Gillilan was safe on a fielder's choice with pinch runner Kala Allred being forced at second and Sito advancing to third.
The rally would go no farther as Ferro grounded to the pitcher with DeWitt making the play on her own at first to end the game.
"It is too much to ask when you go into the last inning down six runs," Nicholson said. "Still, we strung together a couple of big hits, got a huge hit by JB (Burt) and then put ourselves into a position to finish the comeback when Andrea (Nagy) and Tess (Sito) got hits but we just couldn't finish it. I love the fight that this team has that it thinks no lead is too big to overcome, but the truth is, we shouldn't have been down 7-1 to begin with."
The Viking bats were lively in the first game, rapping out 10 hits but none were for extra bases.
The Vikings got off to a slow start in the opener as WSU's Louie Haney tripled to open the game and then came into score on an RBI double by China Frost to give the Raiders a 1-0 advantage.
CSU took the lead back in the top of the third, stringing four singles together to plate three runs.
Gabby Gillilan and Stolarski led the inning off with back-to-back singles and with one out, Jessica Burt singled up the middle to load the bases. Gillilan scored and Stolarski and Burt advanced on a throwing error by Wright State catcher Lindsay Barrett. Tess Sito followed with a single to left to score Stolarski and back-to-back walks to Dara Toman and Amy Powell forced in Burt to give CSU a 3-1 lead.
The Vikings added two more in the fourth. With one out, Stolarski singled to left center and Alicia Nichols walked. Burt moved the runners to second and third with a ground ball out to first base and both runners came into score when Raider shortstop Chelsea Archer threw away a ground ball off the bat of Andrea Nagy.
Cleveland State added two more runs in the seventh on a bases loaded single by Stolarski that scored Toman and pinch-runner Nicole Sirna.
That was all Sito needed as the Viking sophomore settled down after the first inning, scattering seven hits and striking out six to claim her 10th win of the season.
DeWitt was the loser, falling to 9-8 on the year by allowing seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits with 11 strikeouts and six walks in seven innings.
The Raiders jumped on Sito for three runs in the first, the first coming on a Kacie Rapshus bases-loaded sacrifice fly, which was then followed by RBI singles by Michelle Baker and Archer.
WSU made it 4-0 in the second on an unearned run that scored following a pair of Viking errors.
CSU got on the board in the fifth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Burt to make it 4-1, part of a five RBI game for the Viking senior, but CSU could do no further damage, leaving runners at second and third when Nagy struck out to end the frame.
Wright State came back, adding a run in the fifth on a Rapshus home run, and two more in the sixth on a two-run single by Rapshus, to give the Raiders a 7-1 advantage. Rapshus was two-for-three with four RBIs in the game.
Sito was the starter and loser for CSU, dropping to 10-8 on the year after allowing five runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings. Megan Bashak relieved her in the sixth, giving up the final two runs on three hits.
Stolarski, a freshman from Elyria, Ohio, was one of the hitting stars of the day for CSU, going three-for-five with three runs scored and a pair of RBI in the twinbill after getting the chance to bat in a game for the first time.
The Vikings play the final game of this three-game series on Sunday (March 27) at 12 noon before returning home to open the 2011 regular season against Eastern Michigan with a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday (March 29).
