GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Cleveland State softball team won two games on Friday to open the North Carolina A&T Aggie Invitational, extending its win streak to five straight games.
The Vikings knocked off Maryland-Eastern Shore, 12-1, in five innings this morning and rallied to defeat Howard, 4-3, in eight innings this afternoon to improve to 5-2 this year.
CLEVELAND STATE 12, MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 1 (5 INNINGS)
The Vikings pounded out 11 hits and Macy Kaisk threw four innings, allowing just one run as Cleveland State opened the NC A&T Invitational with a five-inning victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore.
CSU wasted little time jumping on the board as Marissa Marcelli led off the game with a single and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Riley Ries.
The Vikings plated four runs in the second inning, including a two-run single from Ries and blew the game open with four more runs in the third to take a 9-0 lead. Marcelli delivered the big hit in the fourth with a three-run homer, while Bailee Gray had a run scoring single.
After the Hawks scored their lone run of the game in the fourth, the Vikings scored three more times in the fifth to extend the lead to 12-1.
Marcelli finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, while Gray was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Mel Woodard went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI and Kait Gairing also had two hits and Ries drove in three runs.
Kaisk earned her first win of the season, throwing four innings and giving up just one run on four hits with three strikeouts. Kristen Catalano worked the fifth inning and struck out one.
CLEVELAND STATE 4, HOWARD 3 (8 INNINGS)
Mel Woodard drove in the game-winning run with a double in the eighth inning to cap a Cleveland State rally and lift the Vikings to a 4-3 win over Howard.
The Bison scored two runs in the first to take a 2-0 lead, but an RBI groundout from Sydney Bajusz in the second inning and an RBI double from Kaisk in the third tied the contest at 2-2.
Howard took a 3-2 lead with a run in the sixth, but the Vikings came right back as a Jordan Humitz RBI groundout scored Olivia Jones to knot the game at 3-3.
Neither team would score in the seventh inning, which led to the international tie-breaker to be used in the eighth inning, which puts a runner on second base to begin the inning.
Howard's runner stole third with two outs, but Mackenzie Joecken got the third out with a strikeout.
Taylor Miokovic was placed on second base to begin the bottom of the eighth and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Jones and Woodard followed with a walk-off double.
Kaisk, Miokovic and Woodard all had two hits for the Vikings.
Alicia Major worked six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts, while Joecken pitched the last two innings. She didn't allow a baserunner and struck out four to earn the win and improve to 3-0.
CSU continues play in the NC A&T Invitational with a 12:00 pm game against the host school of Saturday.
