CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State softball team won its third straight game to open the season with a 9-0 shutout over Canisius on Sunday afternoon at the CSU Dome Tournament in five innings.

Playing as the visiting team in its first game of the day, the Vikings pounded out 10 hits and senior Sara Shields limited the Golden Griffins to just three hits, while striking out three to earn her first win of the season.

CSU wasted little time in jumping on the board as Nena Doran belted the first pitch of the game over the leftfield fence for a 1-0 lead. The Vikings added four more in the second, including a two-run homer from Susan Knight, to open up a 5-0 lead.

A Darien Ward RBI single in the third inning opened up a 6-0 lead in the third inning and the Vikings added three more runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-0.

Katelind Phillips provided a two-run single in the fourth, while Ward added another RBI.

Knight finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Doran went 2-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBI. Phillips and Ward were both 2-for-2 with two runs batted in.

Shields limited Canisius to a pair of singles and a double, while walking just one batter as only one runner reached third base all game.

The Vikings finish the dome tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday with a game against Robert Morris. Both teams are 3-0 this weekend.