May 8, 2011
Contact: Brian McCann
VALPARAISO, Ind. - One big inning and the long ball spelled doom for the Viking softball team on Sunday as Valparaiso put together one big inning in the rain suspended opener and then hit a pair of home runs in the night cap to knock Cleveland State out of first place, winning 4-2 and 3-0.
The losses drop the Vikings, who entered the day in first place by percentage points in the Horizon League standings, down to fourth place while Valparaiso ends the regular season in second place, a half-game behind regular season champion Loyola.
The Vikings (28-17, 13-8) will enter next week's Horizon League Championship as the No 4 seed and face No. 5 UIC on Wednesday (May 11) beginning at 11:00 am. CDT at Loyola's softball field. A victory would send CSU to face the host Ramblers on Thursday (May 12) at 11:00 a.m.
"I am very disappointed," head coach Angie Nicholson said. "This program has always stepped up to face a challenge, but when the scenario t win the regulars season title presented itself this week, we could not put things together.
"We'll get another chance next week. This league was so close this season that any of the six teams in the tournament has a chance to win it. It will be whoever puts things together next week."
The first game was a marathon, starting at 1:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday, being delayed by rain for 3:14 before an unplayable field suspended play at 5:12 p.m.
But the Crusaders did the damage before the rain delay, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take control of the game. As the rain began, Valpo loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to lead off the inning. Kelsey Phalen followed with a ground ball to third, but the throw home by Gabby Gillilan glanced off the helmet of Valpo's KC Boldt, allowing her and Jordan Rutkowski to score and runners advance to second and third. A wild pitch allowed Sadie Conner to score the third run and Phalen came in on a double by Alex Lagesse.
That is when the rains came, suspending play. When play resumed at 12:00 noon CDT on Sunday, Viking starter Tess Sito dominated, allowing just two hits the rest of the way.
The CSU offense continued to struggle to come up with the big hit. Before the delay, CSU left the bases loaded in the second, one runner on in the third and a pair of runners on in the fourth. The Vikings stranded three more runners after the break for a total of nine in the game.
The Vikings scored their only runs of the game in the top of the seventh when with two out, Sito singled and Dara Toman followed with her 10th home run of the season, a blast the barely cleared the wall in left field, to make it a 4-2 game. Lagesse got Andrea Nagy to pop up to end the game.
The home run allowed Toman to tie the school record for career home runs, equaling the 26 homers that Lia Gordon hit from 1997-2000.
Lagesse was the winner, improving to 12-11 by scattering five hits and striking out six with four walks.
Sito gave up just four hits in the nightcap, but two of them were home runs while the CSU offense could manage just three hits.
The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead on a KC Boldt solo home run in the bottom of the second.
Boldt was at it again in the fourth when she belted her second home run of the game, a two-run shot, with one out to put Valpo up 3-0.
Sito was the loser for CSU, dropping to 24-16 on the season after giving up three earned runs on four hits. She struck out six to raise her season total to a league-leading 293.
Sam McGee pitched the shutout for the Crusaders, striking out four and walking two in seven innings of work to improve to 16-6. Jessica Burt had two of CSU's hits while Sito added the third.
