SAN ANTONIO – The Cleveland State softball program continued its winning ways to open the 2022 campaign as the Vikings split their twin bill on the second day of the UIW Invitational. CSU picked up a 13-5 victory over Prairie View in the opener and closed the day with a tough 7-4 defeat at the hands of conference foe Green Bay at H.E.B. Field on Friday afternoon.
GAME ONE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cleveland State – 13, Prairie View – 5 (six innings)
LOCATION: H.E.B. Field – San Antonio, Texas
RECORDS: Cleveland State 2-0 (0-0 Horizon), Prairie View 0-1 (0-0 SWAC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sydney Bajusz and Courtney Fernette carried the load for the Vikings in the opening game of the doubleheader. Bajusz went 3-of-4 at the dish with three runs scored and two RBI. Fernette chipped in a game-high three RBI, that included a homerun, as she went 3-of-4 with two runs scored.
- Kiera Frascone went 1-of-2 overall with two RBI and a run scored.
- Alexa Sieger added two RBI on her only at-bat of the game off a shot to deep right center.
- Becky Hurosky, Mackenzie Tucker and Jenna Deang all contributed an RBI, respectively.
- Taylor Betz improved to 1-0 on the young season as she fired 4 2/3 innings that included six punchouts.
- It was the first run-rule win for the Vikings since a 10-2 victory over IUPUI back on March 21, 2021.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was all Vikes to start off the game, as CSU plated four in the opening frame to take an early 4-0 lead.
- Cleveland State added four more in the top of the second to open things up with an eight-run advantage.
- CSU got another four runs in the fifth to start to put the game on ice at 12-0.
- Prairie View started to show signs of life in the bottom of the inning as they scrapped together five runs to cut the Viking lead to 12-5.
- The Vikings added a final run in the top of the sixth to seal the run-rule victory.
GAME TWO BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cleveland State – 4, GB – 7 (seven innings)
LOCATION: H.E.B. Field – San Antonio, Texas
RECORDS: Cleveland State 2-1 (0-0 Horizon), Green Bay 1-0 (0-0 Southland)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Frascone continued her strong start to the year with a 2-for-3 line and two more RBI in the second contest of the day. The North Lawrence, Ohio native is batting .500 with four RBI, three runs scored and three stole bases through her first three games played.
- Melissa Holzopfel (1-for-4) and Jenna Deang (1-of-2) both added an RBI.
- Jenna Watts closed out the game and allowed just one run over the final 3 1/3 of the game. She struck out five batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The script flipped in this one as Green Bay was able to race out to a 3-1 lead after the first inning.
- The Phoneix added another three in the top of the fourth to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
- After another Green Bay runner crossed the plate in the top of the sixth, Cleveland State answered back in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own to push the game back to 7-4 in GB's favor.
- The rally caps didn't work for the second day in a row as the Phoneix were able to close out the 7-4 win.
NEXT UP
The busy opening weekend continues for the Vikings as the squad has two more games on the docket on Saturday. CSU will open things up with a rematch against Prairie View at 11 AM ET, followed by another showdown with host UIW at 4:30 PM. Live video to the contests will not be available, but fans and supporters will be able to follow along with the live stats of the games here.
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