CLEVELAND – The first-place Cleveland State softball team returns home for its first home-series of the 2022 season as the Vikings play host to conference rival Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend. The scheduled three-game series will get underway with a doubleheader on Friday, March 18 with a first pitch set for noon.
"We are very excited to get a chance to play in front of our home fans for the first time this season," head softball coach Amy Kyler said. "The girls are looking to carry their strong momentum over from our opening series and it is going to be a great opportunity for fans and supporters to catch us early in the year."
ICYMI:Softball announces schedule change to home-series due to upcoming weather
CSU sits atop of the conference standings after a three-game sweep to open league-play over IUPUI this past weekend. The Vikings are 3-0 in HL action and find themselves tied with Youngstown State and Oakland.
Purdue Fort Wayne sits right behind the pack though, as the Mastodons took two games over UIC over the weekend to get to 2-0 in Horizon League play. Their final game of the series against the Flames was rained out.
The Vikings enter the weekend second in the Horizon in hits (136), RBI (70) and steals (25), and third in batting average (.238) and on-base percentage (.333).
Melissa Holzopfel has helped pace the offense with 22 hits (fifth in the conference) and 11 runs scored (tied for seventh). Brooke Albaugh has added 10 runs herself (tenth in HL) while Sydney Bajusz and Jenna Deang have been blazing the basepaths with five steals apiece (tied for sixth), respectively. Becky Hurosky is also tied for fifth in the conference with her two homeruns.
Holzopfel has also been a standout in the circle and is coming off Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors, her second of the season. The Massillon, Ohio native posted a perfect 2-0 week in the IUPUI series with two complete-game gems. She recorded 24 strikeouts to just eight hits and a single earned run over 17 innings pitched. Holzopfel leads the Horizon with 92 strikeouts and ranks second in the league with six complete games.
With inclement weather set to hit the Greater Cleveland area, this weekend's series is scheduled to change. Be on the lookout on the CSU softball schedule page and the CSU softball twitter account for the latest information.
Admission to all three home games is free of charge.
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