April 23, 2011
Contact: Brian McCann
CHICAGO, Ill. - Megan Bashak threw a two-hit shutout and Dara Toman's seventh home run of the season provided all the offense as Cleveland State bounced back from a 6-0 defeat in game one to topple UIC, 1-0, on Saturday at Flames Field.
The split brings CSU to 22-17 on the year and 7-5 in league play, good for fifth place. UIC is now 19-18 overall and 9-6 in the league ((4th).
"This was a tough day for us," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We looked like we had never played the game before in the first game and the score showed it. Then, Megan (Bashak) came through with her best pitching performance this season and helped us to get the split.
"It was another tough weekend for us weather-wise. We wait around too play so much and have our mid-week games canceled and that makes it hard for us to get into a flow. Hopefully, the weather will warm up and dry out over these next two weeks and let us get on the field so that we can get ready for the championship."
In a doubleheader in which the Vikings could manage just seven hits, Toman provided the one that counted when she blasted a two-out home run to left center to give CSU a 1-0 advantage. It was Toman's seventh long ball of the year and 23rd RBI, tying her with Jessica Burt for the team lead in both categories.
That was all Bashak needed as the junior, who was making her fifth start of the year, gave up just a lead-off single in the first and a one-out single in the seventh. In between, she retired 19 straight batters to improve to 2-0 on the season.
"Megan had her ball moving real well today and she located her spots," Nicholson said. "She really had UIC frustrated because they could not get their bat on the ball and many of their hits were either weak rollers or pop-ups.
"Our defense played pretty well behind Megan and I thought that helped in the second game," Nicholson added.
Bashak did find herself in trouble in the seventh when Natalie Hernandez singled to left with one out and after a Jenna Marsali fly out to center, Courtney Heeley walked to put runners at first and second. Bashak got out of the jam however as she enticed Kelsey Sturgeon to fly out to left field to end the game.
The shutout was the first of Bashak's career with the seven innings of work being the longest in her career. She struck out four and walked just one. Devin Miller (11-13) was the loser for UIC, giving up the one earned run on four hits. She walked two and stuck out one.
The first game was all Flames as UIC built a 5-0 lead after three innings and coasted to the win.
UIC scored the first run in the second when Claire Donyanavard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Flames broke it open in the third when they took advantage of a pair of walks, a hit batter and three Viking errors to plate four runs, two of which were unearned.
The Vikings had chances in the first three innings, but couldn't come up with the big hit.
In the first, Burt walked to lead off the game and was quickly sacrificed to second. She moved to third on a ground out by Tess Sito and was stranded at third when Toman struck out to end the inning.
With two outs in the second, CSU loaded the bases on a throwing error, a Caila Ferro single and a walk to Alicia Nichols, but the inning ended when Burt struck out.
Gabby Gillilan opened the third with a single but a double play grounder by Toman ended the threat.
CSU would also have runners on base in the fourth and fifth before Miller retired nine of the last 10 batters she faced to get the win, striking out six and walking three. Sito went the distance for CSU, giving up six runs (four earned) on nine hits.
The Vikings return home to play seven straight contests at Viking Field, starting with a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 26).
