May 11, 2011
Contact: Brian McCann
CHICAGO, Ill - Gabby Gillilan stroked a two-run double as part of a four-run Viking third inning as CSU rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Wright State, 4-2, on Wednesday afternoon in the first elimination game of the Horizon League Championship.
The Vikings improve to 29-20 and will take Thursday off from play, playing an elimination game on Friday (May 13) at 12:00 noon EDT against a team to be determined on Thursday. Wright State was eliminated from the tourney with a 26-29 record.
"That was much better," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "When we were down 2-0, we came back with some timely hits, some great defense and strong pitching to take control of the game. It is a great sign to beat a team like Wright State, who has caused so many problems for us historically in this tournament."
Playing against a team that had eliminated them in the championship game of the tourney four times in the last eight years, the Vikings fell behind 2-0 in the top of the third when China Frost belted a two-run double down the left field line that took a funny bounce past left fielder Megan Bashak, allowing Kristi Boreing and Mollie Berry to score.
The Vikings came right back in the bottom of the frame. Bashak led off the frame with a single to right field and was forced at second on a fielder's choice off the bat of Alicia Nichols. Jessica Burt walked on four pitches and Gillilan came through with a double off the wall in right center to tie the game at 2-2. That was all for Wright State starter Krystian DeWitt, who was replaced in the circle by Chelsea Contant.
Cleveland State wasn't done yet as Tess Sito put the Vikings ahead with a RBI single to left with Gillilan using a great slide to elude the tag by Lindsay Barrett following a strong throw from Boreing with Sito taking second on the throw. Sito went to third on a ground out by Dara Toman and came into score on a single off the glove of Contant to make it 4-2.
Sito regained her composure in the circle, setting the Raiders down in order in the fourth and allowing only a single in the fifth.
Then the Viking defense took over to secure the win.
Wright State opened the sixth with back-to-back first pitch singles by Louie Haney and Justine Shilt, but Haney hesitated while trying to take third on the second single and was caught in a run down, being tagged out at second for the first out. Sito then got Barrett to strikeout and Kacie Rapshus to rap and innocent ground out to second to end the inning.
The seventh started with a line drive single up the middle by Chelsea Archer that Sito narrowly missed catching on the line. Boreing followed with s soft line drive to the left of the mound that appeared destined to become an infield single before Sito reached back across her body and stabbed the liner with a back hand and then firing to first base to double up pinch runner Michelle Baker. Sito struck out Brittany Waddell to end the inning and claim her 25th win of the season against 17 defeats.
"Our defense won the game," Nicholson said. "You could just sense the momentum turning in the sixth inning when they had those two hits but Jessica Burt made a great throw from right field that made the runner hesitate just long enough while going to third and we threw her out.
"Then in the seventh, Tess made an unbelievable stretch to catch the come-backer and she caught the runner who was running on contact," Nicholson added.
Sito struck out seven in the game to raise her season strikeout total to 302 to join Amanda Macenko (367 in 2010) and Amy Kyler (325 in 1997) as the only pitchers in CSU history to strikeout 300 or more batters in a season.
In other tournament action on Wednesday, CSU dropped a 9-0 decision in five innings to No. 5 UIC and No. 3 Butler defeated No. 6 Wright State, 4-0. Butler will play No. 2 Valparaiso at 12:00 noon EDT on Thursday with top-seeded Loyola taking on UIC at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The losers of the two games will play an elimination game at 5:00 p.m. with the winner meeting CSU on Friday at 12:00 noon in the third elimination game of the tourney.
