May 9, 2009
Contact: Brian McCann
PENDLETON, Ind. - Amanda Houchin hit a pair of two-run homeruns but t was not enough as UIC pounded out 11 to claim an 8-5 decision over CSU in the first of two championship games of the Horizon League Championship on Saturday afternoon at Legends Field.
The Vikings and Flames will meet again to decided the championship on Sunday (May 10) at 9:00 a.m. with the winner taking home the title and NCAA berth that goes with it.
"I'm disappointed because we had our opportunities in the game to both come back and take control but we couldn't come up with the big hits when we needed them," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We did an awful lot of things right today. Now we need to come out tomorrow and correct the things we did wrong and continue to hit the ball the way that we are capable of.
Despite coming out of the main bracket, the Vikings were the visiting team in the game and took advantage of hitting first.
If Nicholson thought she had seen the start of the game before, she was right.
For the fourth game in a row, Christa Coppus led off the first inning with a walk. One out later, Amanda Houchin hit her third first inning homerun of the tournament, a line drive into the heavy winds blowing out to right centerfield.
UIC came right back in the bottom of the frame, tying the game when Stephanie Chavez blasted a two-run homerun over the 200 foot sign in straightaway centerfield to even the game at 2-2.
The Flames took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second when Alicia Abbott hit her first homerun of the season, a wind-aided fly ball that barely cleared the wall in right center.
Cleveland State regained the lead in the third when Danielle Young singled to right with one out and came around to score on Houchin's second homerun of the game, a line drive to left that was barely high enough to clear the four-foot high fence. It was the 10th homerun of the season for Houchin, the second-highest single season total in CSU history, trailing only Lia Gordon's 13 homeruns this year.
UIC went to its bullpen following Houchin's second long ball as Clynes came in to pitch with Hewett moving back to left field after allowing four runs on four hits in two and a third innings.
UIC answered back in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs to take a 6-4 lead. Sarah Clynes opened the inning with a triple and scored on a Macias single. Two more singles, by Chavez and Frydendall loaded the bases.
Nicholson went to the bullpen, bringing in Brittany Bate to relieve Macenko in the circle. After a bases loaded walk to Marinacci scored Macias, Chavez scored on a sacrifice fly by Hewett.
UIC added two more in the fourth on a bases loaded single by Marinacci that extended the lead to 8-4.
The Vikings loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but came away empty when Mimi Mahon struck out and Natalie DeMatteis grounded out to end the inning.
Bate really came through for the Vikings. After allowing a pair of runs in the fourth, she settled in, retiring seven of the final eight batters that she faced to keep the Flames from doing further damage on the scoreboard.
CSU refused to quit in the top of the seventh as Coppus singled to open the frame and Young followed with a double to put runners on second and third. UIC pitched around Houchin, walking her to load the bases with nobody out. The rally ended their as Gordon struck out after a prolonged battle with pitcher Sarah Clynes and Mahon bounced into a double play to end the game.
"One more hit in each of those two rallies and it is a different game." Nicholson said. "We put the runners on but just couldn't get them home."
The top four batters in the CSU lineup accounted for the majority of the offense as Coppus, Young, Houchin and Gordon combined to go 8-for-13 at the plate. The rest of the lineup struggled, getting one hit in 15 at-bats.
Clynes was the winner for UIC, improving to 8-14 on the year after holding CSU scoreless over 4 and two-thirds innings, allowing five hits with a walk and a pair of strikeouts.
