Final Stats

Contact: Jeff Sattora

CLEVELAND- A walk-off double to right field by sophomore second baseman Cynthia Woodard was the difference Thursday night, as the Cleveland State Vikings took down the Robert Morris Colonials 4-3 in non-league action at Viking Field.

With the win the Vikings improved to 20-23 on the year as they continue to prepare for their final regular season series of the season this weekend and the Horizon League tournament next week.

Cleveland State got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. With two outs in the inning freshman Alyson Broschk singled up the middle to put one runner on base. Classmate Susan Knight then brought her home with a double to right field to pick up the RBI.

The single for Knight helped her own cause, as she was also the winning pitcher on the afternoon. For the day she pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and three runs (one earned). She also picked up 10 strikeouts in the circle. The win for Knight improves her to 14-9 on the year, as she continues to pace the CSU pitching staff.

The score stayed 1-0 until the fifth inning, when a triple and two Cleveland State errors helped to give Robert Morris the lead. The Colonials got things going with a Nicole Sleith lead-off walk. That was followed by a Britta Grafton triple to tie things at 1-1. Cassie Show was next up, and despite striking out swinging, a dropped third strike by catcher Erica McNew and error by first baseman Dara Toman put her on base. That play also scored Grafton to put Robert Morris up 2-1. Ashley Gerhart then reached on a fielder's choice, and after stealing second she scored on an error by catcher Erica McNew after a ball thrown by her hit off pitcher Susan Knight and bounced away to bring home the Colonial's final run. 

Despite the defensive errors in the top of the fifth, Cleveland State was not ready to go down without a fight. Toman got things going right away in the bottom of the same inning, as she blasted a solo home run to center field to bring CSU within one run. The homer for the senior was her 13th of the year.

Moving into the bottom of the seventh and still down 3-2 the Vikings would need a clutch play, and that's exactly what they got. After two outs led off the inning, back-to-back walks to Toman and McNew set the stage for Woodard. The sophomore delivered big time as she knocked a two-run double to right field for the 4-3 win.

Cleveland State will be back in action this weekend, as they head to Chicago for a three game Horizon League series with league-leader UIC. The two teams will play two games Saturday before closing the regular season with a single game Sunday.