YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Cleveland State Vikings softball team fought to the final play of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader against Youngstown State but ultimately dropped a pair of games as the Penguins swept their way to the first Horizon League regular season championship in program history.
GAME ONE - Penguins 10, Vikings 2 (5 innings)
The Vikings produced the opening run of Saturday's opening contest, but the Penguins answered with nine runs over the first and second innings to cruise to a 10-2 victory.
Aly Packish drew a leadoff walk in the top of the first before taking third base on Kiera Frascone's infield single and a subseqent Youngstown State error. Packish came around to score on a wild pitch, handing Cleveland State a 1-0 lead.
The Penguins chased Vikings starter Jenna Watts after taking a 7-1 edge with one down in the second inning, giving way to Hanna Griffin. Griffin allowed a homer to the first batter she faced but settled down from there, holding the Penguins without a run over the third and fourth frames.
Cleveland State capitalized on another Youngstown State miscue in the fifth inning when Jenna Deang singled through the left side before scoring on an error by the Penguins, making the score 9-2.
Youngstown State claimed a 10-2 run-rule win on a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
Mackenzie Tucker went 2-for-3 at the plate while Deang notched a 1-for-2 clip and scored a run. Griffin tossed 3.1 innings in the circle, surrendering a pair of runs on five hits while striking out three.
GAME TWO - Penguins 3, Vikings 1 (8 innings)
Cleveland State came up on the wrong end of an eight-inning thriller to close the four-game weekend series as the Penguins belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to clinch the Horizon League title.
Youngstown State's offense appeared to pick up right where it left off in game one. Yazmine Romero hit a leadoff single before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a fielder's choice to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Making her second career start as a pitcher, Alexa Sieger frustrated the Penguins over the next six innings, holding their deep lineup without a run and working out of multiple jams.
The Vikings loaded the bases in the third inning when Katie Holmes picked up her first collegiate hit on a single to right field before back-to-back base hits by Kiera Frascone and Packish. Tucker belted a ball deep to left field to tie the game at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly RBI.
The Penguins moved runners into scoring position in the third and fourth frames, but Sieger induced a pair of flyouts to escape both innings.
Cleveland State used double plays to retire the side in both the sixth and seventh innings. First, Deang snagged a hard-hit liner at second base before throwing to first in the sixth. The following inning, the Vikings worked around the diamond on a 5-4-3 double play to send the game to extras.
Tucker smacked a leadoff double to left center in the eighth inning and advanced to third on Courtney Fernete's sacrifice bunt, but a strikeout and a groundout foiled Cleveland State's attempt at plating the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Penguins drew a walk before walking off on a two-run homer to left field by Avery Schumacher, making it a 3-1 final.
Sieger went 7.1 innings in the longest outing of her career while Tucker went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Taylor Duncan recorded her first double since March 21 against IUPUI.
The contest marked the Vikings' fourth extra-inning game of the campaign and first since March 6 against Norfolk State. Cleveland State fell to 1-3 in extra-inning affairs with the lone win coming on February 20 against Charleston Southern.
UP NEXT
The Vikings wrap up their season with a four-game series at Viking Field against Robert Morris on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m.
