FAIRBORN, Ohio - The Cleveland State softball team split a Horizon League doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Wright State, earning a 6-2 win in the nightcap after falling 4-3 in the opener.
CSU is now 13-10 overall this year and 1-2 in league play, while the Raiders are 6-18 overall and 2-1 in the Horizon League.
In game one, both teams scored a run in the first inning, including a leadoff homer by Nena Doran in the bottom of the first, her eighth of the season.
The Vikings grabbed a 3-1 lead with two runs in the second inning as Doran and Susan Knight delivered RBI singles. The Raiders would tie the contest at 3-3 with single tallies in the third and fourth innings and scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the seventh on a Macey Gunther RBI single with one out.
Mackenzie Joecken had a one out double in the bottom of the seventh and moved to third base on a Doran groundout, but the Vikings could not get the tying run across.
Doran, Cynthia Woodard and Katelind Phillips all had two hits in the opener, while Doran also drove in two runs.
Alex Radjen was strong in the circle, firing a complete game and striking out three in falling to 4-3 this season.
CSU wasted little time in jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the finale, scoring two runs in the first inning. Doran led off with a double and scored on a triple from Knight. Woodard followed with a sacrifice fly to score Knight.
An RBI single by Sydney Morgan drove in Hannah Yoe in the second inning to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead, but the Raiders answered with single tallies in the third and fourth innings to pull within 3-2.
That would be as close as the Raiders would get as Erica McNew belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning - her eighth of the season - and Ashleigh Mitts had an RBI single in the sixth for CSU's final run of the game.
Doran and Knight both had two hits in the finale as the Vikings pounded out 10 hits.
Knight went the distance in the circle, improving to 6-4 this year after giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out three.
The Vikings are slated to return to action on Wednesday (March 25) when CSU hosts Niagara for a doubleheader with the first game starting at 3:00 p.m.
