CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State softball team will host Oakland for a three-game Horizon League series this weekend at Viking Field.
The series starts with a single game on Friday (April 24) at 4:00 pm followed by a doubleheader on Saturday (April 25) at 1:00 pm. All three games are scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Ed Daugherty providing the play-by-play.
Saturday will be Senior Day with CSU honoring its four seniors on the roster - Nena Doran, Alex Radjen, Cynthia Woodard and Hannah Yoe - between the two games.
The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 3-3 with the Golden Grizzlies winning the lone game last year, 1-0, as the other two games were canceled due to inclement weather.
The Vikings are 20-20 overall this season following two losses at St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday afternoon. CSU is in sixth place in the Horizon League with a 5-7 record, while Oakland is 20-18 overall and in first place in the league at 11-3.
The Golden Grizzlies hold a one-game lead over second place Wright State and UIC who are both 10-4, while Green Bay and Youngstown State are tied for fourth place at 6-8. Valparaiso is in seventh place with a 5-9 league mark, while Detroit is 1-11.
Oakland took two of three games against Green Bay last weekend to maintain its hold on first place in the league.
Woodard has paced the Viking offense all season and is making a run at the Triple Crown. She is tied for first in the league with a .455 batting average and tops the circut in home runs (20) and RBI (41). Woodard, who also has 13 doubles, belted her 20th homer of the season on Tuesday at St. Francis, breaking the CSU single season school record for homers in a season. The old mark was 19 set by Dara Toman in 2012.
In addition, Woodard's 41 runs batted in are sixth most in a season in program history, just seven shy of breaking Toman's single season record of 47 in 2010.
Erica McNew is tied with Woodard for the league lead in batting average (.455) and also ranks second in home runs (11) and RBI (34). Nena Doran is hitting .361 and is tied with McNew for second in the league with 11 homers.
Freshman Mackenzie Joecken has enjoyed a stellar first season, batting .333 with six doubles, eight homers and 27 RBI.
CSU tops the Horizon League in batting average (.304) and home runs (62), but will be facing an Oakland pitching staff that leads the league with a 3.09 ERA. Erin Kownacki is tied for the league lead in wins (11).
Sarah Cupp leads the Oakland offense, hitting .400 with seven homers and 34 RBI, while Sarah Hartley is hitting .367 with 10 homers and 31 RBI.
The Vikings will be back in action on Tuesday (April 28) when CSU travels to Akron for a doubleheader that will begin at 3:00 pm. CSU returns home to host Detroit for a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 29) at 2:00 pm in a make-up from earlier in the season.
