May 11, 2007
CLEVELAND - Lia Gordon ended an entertaining pitcher's duel with one swing of the bat leading off the bottom of the ninth, sending Cleveland State past Butler, 2-1, in an elimination game in the Horizon League Championship on Friday night at Viking Field. The Vikings will battle UIC on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. for the right to face Wright State in the championship game.
"What an amazing feeling," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "Amanda was unbelievable again in the circle and Lia came up with another huge home run. This team just doesn't have any quit in them and I know they can't wait to get back on the field tomorrow."
CSU's Amanda Macenko and Butler's Jamie Wonderly traded bagels on the scoreboard, in a game that lasted just 90 minutes despite the Vikings going to extra innings for the first time all season.
Gordon, who homered just once in the regular season, has now gone deep in three straight games, helping CSU improve to 17-0 in contests in which it hits a home run.
Macenko improved to 26-9 on the year after giving up just four hits and an unearned run in her 24th complete game effort. She fanned seven while walking none to win for the 11th time in her last 12 decisions.
Meanwhile, Wonderly (9-10) nearly matched her pitch for pitch, giving up two runs on nine hits in eight-plus innings of work.
The Vikings got on the board in the bottom of the third when Haley Keller led off with a double, and three batters later, Jessica Burt's single scored pinch runner Amanda Kern.
The Bulldogs knotted the game in the top of the fourth, plating an unearned run.
Christa Coppus and Burt each had a pair of hits for CSU, while Bridget Paine had two of Butler's four hits.
