Final Stats

Contact: Jeff Sattora

Stillwater, OK- The Cleveland State Vikings (4-7) picked up one win Friday on the first day of the three day Oklahoma State softball tournament this weekend. The Vikings started off the tournament on a high note, taking down Santa Clara 7-1 in the tournament's first game, before falling 6-2 to Northern Iowa in the afternoon.

Freshman Susan Knightshined on the mound vs. the Broncos in game one, picking up her fourth win to go 4-0 on the season for CSU. Knight pitched all seven innings in game one, allowing just one run on five hits with three strikeouts.

After Knight helped her own cause with a solo home run in the second inning, CSU used a five run third-inning outburst in the batter's box to take a 6-0 lead and put the game away for good.

Following a single by freshman Katelind Phillips to lead off the third, back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs for the Vikings. Phillips' classmate Alyson Broschk then got the inning's scoring going with a three-run double down the right field line to make it 4-0 CSU. Three more singles by Caila Ferro, Darien Ward, and Janessa Rivera-Keahihelped bring in two more runs in the inning for the 6-0 lead.

Phillips continued her strong showing in the fifth inning as she eventually came around to score following her lead off double to give the Vikings their total of seven runs in game one.

Despite taking an early 2-0 first inning lead in the late game Friday, CSU was unable to keep that winning play going, falling to the Northern Iowa Panthers 6-2.

Five different CSU players were able to pick up a hit in game two, including three in that first inning, for a balanced offensive effort.

Erica McNewled the way for that group of hitters as she knocked in both RBI's in game two with a one-out two-run homer in the first. McNew leads the Vikings with three homers on the year.

For Head Coach Angie Nicholson, while she did see positives, she knows the group still has things to focus on. 

"We need to clean up the errors if we want to put up consistent wins," she said.  "We are doing a better job being aggresive at the plate but the key is staying consistent." 

CSU will be back in action for two games tomorrow, CSU will first play host Oklahoma State at 1:30 p.m. CT, before then playing a game TBD.