May 10, 2003
Cleveland - After dropping their opening game of the Horizon League Championship at Viking Field, the Cleveland State softball team shelled off four straight victories over higher-seeded teams before falling in the championship game to No. 8 Wright State Saturday afternoon.
The undefeated Raiders struck first in the contest, plating two runs in the first on back-to-back RBI doubles from Amy Price and Laura Workman. The Vikings promptly responded in the bottom half, however, as senior catcher Stephanie Taylor (Wintersville, Ohio/Indian Creek) drove in freshman Grace Luginbuhl (Lima, Ohio/Bath) from second with a single to right.
In the sixth, with CSU down 3-1, sophomore Kortney Spidell (Strasburg, Ohio/Strasburg) knotted the score with a two-run homer to left and freshman Jessica Townsend (Hudson, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) belted a two-run shot of her own to give the Vikings a 5-3 edge.
Following a pair of singles in the top seventh inning, Raider first baseman Stephanie Salas yanked a two-out go-ahead home run over the left field fence, giving Wright State the eventual title.
After faltering in their opening contest to UIC 8-2 on Thursday, the Vikings advanced to the championship game by shelling off four straight wins, including a 10-2 stomping of top seeded Loyola and a 7-1 rout of second-seeded Youngstown State.
CSU held a 6-2 advantage in the fifth against the Ramblers Friday night before lightning forced the game to be suspended until Saturday morning. When the game resumed, the Vikings picked right up where the left off, tallying four more runs in the seventh to solidify the triumph.
An RBI double by Amanda Berry would be all the scoring for the Penguins against the Vikings in the second game, as Cleveland State would receive an outstanding six-inning performance from Luginbuhl in which she allowed only five hits while striking out six.
