April 12, 2002
Stephanie Taylor's (Wintersville, Ohio/Indian Creek, Ohio) towering blast to center in the top of the eighth provided Cleveland State with a needed cushion as the Vikings beat Kent State 5-2 in extra innings at the Kent Softball Field Thursday.
Taylor's two-out, two-run homer came after the Vikes had put the go-ahead run on the board. With one out, centerfielder Tiffany Stocker (Sherrodsville, Ohio/Conotton Valley) pushed a single past second base. Stocker took second with her 17th stolen base of the year and advanced to third on a wild pitch before freshman Kortney Spidell (Strasburg, Ohio/Strasburg-Franklin) struck out. Stocker then scored when KSU hurler Kate Leary bobbled a grounder by Michelle Beightol (Akron, Ohio/Springfield).
Kent State hit the board first, scoring a pair of runs in the fourth. The Golden Flashes opened up the inning with three straight singles off of CSU's Jessica Miller (Medina, Ohio/Medina) to load the bases but Miller coaxed two consecutive ground balls for the force outs at home. However, centerfielder Danielle Fincham singled to center, scoring Jodi Stevens. A subsequent grounder back to Miller by Marci Ridenbaugh sent Le Ann Fonner across for the second score when Renee Lynch was ruled safe at third.
The Vikings, however, answered in the top of the fifth with a pair of their own runs. Freshman Anna Hubert (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) sent a two-run blast to left for her first collegiate home run, scoring Jackie Miller (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), who opened the inning with a single to left.
