May 11, 2007
CLEVELAND - Cleveland State freshman Amanda Macenko handcuffed top-seeded Loyola and classmate Lia Gordon blasted a two-run home run for the second straight game as the Vikings earned a 5-2 win in an elimination contest on Friday afternoon at the 2007 Horizon League Championship. With the victory, CSU moves on to face Butler at 8:00 p.m.
Macenko improved to 25-9 with her 23rd complete game effort of the season. She gave up eight hits and a pair of runs while fanning four to surpass Amy Kyler's school record of 24 victories set in 1997.
"What Amanda has accomplished this year is amazing -- to break one of Amy Kyler's records is no small feat," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "Once she got out of the second, she really settled down and got in a groove.
"Offensively, Christa [Coppus] really got us started at the top of the order and Lia came up with another huge home run to give us a nice cushion."
Playing as the visitors on their home field, Vikings got on the board in the top of the first. Christa Coppus doubled to lead off the game, moved over to third on an Amanda Houchin single and came around to score on an error.
The Ramblers (21-21) knotted the score on an RBI single by Raven Gengler, but avoided further damage later in the frame on a perfect relay throw to nail the potential go-ahead run at the plate.
Macenko would settle down after that, at one point retiring nine batters in a row.
CSU (31-13) surged ahead in the fifth, on an RBI groundout by Jessica Burt and a run-scoring single by Houchin.
In the sixth, Michele Penney led off with a single and scored two batters later when Gordon lined her third home run of the year over the fence in left field.
Loyola would score a run in the sixth on a RBI double by Tara Miller, but Macenko retired the final four batters in order to win for the 10th time in her last 11 decisions.
Houchin paced the Vikings with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Coppus and Haley Keller had two hits each.
Miller had a pair of hits to lead the Ramblers.
Krista Crossen surrendered nine hits and five runs (four earned) to fall to 8-6.
