MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team lost two tightly contested games on the team's fourth day in Florida. The Cardinals (7-7) lost 2-1 to Bridgeport in the morning before pushing Cedarville to extra innings in a 6-4 loss after nine frames.
GAME 1: Bridgeport 2 – SVSU 1
The Purple Knights (6-2) gained the lead early in the first inning with a double to right field that brought a runner across the plate for the 1-0 lead.
SVSU threatened with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the third, but were not able to capitalize on the scoring opportunity.
A home run by Bridgeport's Mya Jones to lead off the fourth doubled the Purple Knight lead to 2-0.
Emma Helvie (Markle, Ind. / Huntington North HS) was hit by a pitch to get on base to lead off the home-half of the fourth frame. Emily Beckas (Troy, Mich. / Avondale HS) stole second after entering the game as a pinch runner for Helvie. A groundout moved Beckas to third with two outs, and Kate Pnacek (Coleman, Mich. / Coleman HS) brought her home with an infield single to put the Cardinals down just one run, but they couldn't threaten further before the final out ended the contest.
Four SVSU batters earned a hit in the game: Aalana Kimble (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood HS), Lillia Sherman (Millington, Mich. / Millington HS), Natalie Savage (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS), and Pnacek, who recorded the lone RBI for the team.
Macy Irelan (Owosso, Mich. / Owosso HS) (L, 2-3) pitched all seven innings for SVSU. She allowed four hits and two runs while recording eight strikeouts.
GAME 2: Cedarville 6 – SVSU 4 (9-Innings)
The Yellowjackets (2-11) scored first after a triple down the right field line, scoring the three runners on base in the bottom of the second inning.
Sherman chipped away at the 3-0 advantage with a single to center field that scored Evelynn Rybicki (Freeland, Mich. / Freeland HS) in the top of the third inning.
Another run was recorded on a triple by Savage that allowed Faith Maloney (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) to cross the plate to bring the Cardinals within a run of tying things up.
The lead was extended to 4-2 in the bottom half of the fourth after the bases were loaded with no outs. A run crossed the plate on a groundout to third, but SVSU's defense was able to limit the damage for the remainder of the inning.
Helvie singled in the fifth to score Lauren Evans (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft HS), and Emma Bolding (Greenfield, Mich. / Eastern Hancock HS) scored on a double steal in the sixth to knot the score at four runs heading into the final inning of regulation.
The game was pushed to two additional innings with neither team able to tally the game-winning run until the ninth, when the Yellowjackets hit a walk-off home run that scored two runs and ended the game, 6-4.
Helvie led the Cardinals' bats with two hits and an RBI. Sherman and Savage each recorded one hit and an RBI. Rybicki had a hit and a run. Evans, Emily Schmeltz (Union, Ky. / Cooper HS), and Ella Schneider (Southfield, Mich. / Berkley HS) recorded hits in the losing effort.
Makenzie Cammenga (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville HS) went four innings in the circles as the starter for the Cardinals. She finished with a strikeout and allowed four hits before she was relieved by Irelan (L, 2-4). Irelan went 5.1 innings with three strikeouts and gave up three hits and an earned run in the defeat.
UP NEXT: The team will have tomorrow off before concluding its Spring Break trip to Florida on Saturday with a game against St. Cloud St. at 2:30 p.m. and a second, and final, showdown with Bentley at 4:45 p.m. (ET).