May 3, 2005
CANFIELD, Ohio - Cleveland State completed its second straight season sweep of Youngstown State (18-31, 4-13 HL) with a 7-2 victory on Tuesday afternoon at McCune Park. Anna Hubert's two-out, bases-clearing double in the top of the first inning propelled the Vikings (18-23) to their 12th win in their last 16 games while improving to 7-5 in the Horizon League.
In its first at-bat, CSU loaded the bases with two outs on three infield singles. Hubert stepped up to the plate and found the gap in right field to clear the bases. She then came around to score on a double by starting pitcher J.J. Thornberry.
The Vikings would tack on single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings -- two coming on RBI singles from Grace Luginbuhl and Whitney Willard -- to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
The Penguins would threaten in their final at-bat, pushing across a pair of runs on three hits, but Thornberry would escape further damage by inducing a game-ending ground-out.
Thornberry won her second straight decision to even her record at 6-6 on the season. She allowed two earned runs and scattered 10 hits while walking one and fanning two en route to tossing her fifth complete game.
Ashley Lockmiller (6-7) took the loss for YSU, surrendering 10 hits and five earned runs.
All nine batters picked up at least one hit for the Vikings, with Sherri Douglas collecting a pair and Amber Lowe scoring three times.
"Anna got things going for us in the first inning with a big two-out hit," CSU head coach Julie Jones said after picking up her 200th career victory. "Everybody contributed for us today and J.J. was solid in the circle. We're starting to play with a lot of composure."
Cleveland State is in action again on Thursday (May 5) when the Vikings square off against Kent State at Firestone Stadium in Akron at 7:00 p.m. CSU will then host Loyola in a crucial three-game set at Viking Field over the weekend (May 7-8).
With their victory on Tuesday, the Vikings moved percentage points ahead of the Ramblers for third place in the league race. Heading into the regular season's final weekend, CSU can still finish anywhere from first to sixth, but a pair of wins over the Ramblers would guarantee the Vikings no lower than the third seed.
