May 12, 2005
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Cleveland State used a three-run second inning and another strong performance from Grace Luginbuhl en route to a 3-1 victory over UW-Green Bay on Thursday afternoon at the Horizon League Softball Championship. With the win, the third-seeded Vikings advance in the winner's bracket to face No. 5 Detroit on Friday (May 13) at 2:00 p.m. CDT with a berth in the title game on the line. The Titans upset top-seeded UIC, 7-4.
The only other time CSU opened the league tournament with a pair of victories was in 1997 when the Vikings won their lone championship with a perfect 4-0 mark.
Pitching back-to-back games, Luginbuhl (15-12) limited UW-Green Bay to one run on six hits while fanning a half-dozen.
Cleveland State pushed three runs across in the second inning on only two hits. After an RBI single by Whitney Willard, the Vikings scored twice more thanks to a pair of wild pitches and a passed ball on a third strike.
Lisa Meissner (7-6) went the distance for the Phoenix, giving up five hits and one earned run.
"Grace was tough today -- she really kept her composure even after we made a couple of errors behind her," CSU head coach Julie Jones said. "We're going to have to get our offense going a little more if we hope to keep winning, but we did a nice job today of getting on the board first and putting the pressure on the other team."
Michele Penney and J.J. Thornberry each went 2-for-3 to pace the Vikings.
