Youngstown, OH-The Cleveland State softball team was up to the task on Saturday morning as the Vikings defeated Robert Morris 7-0 to advance to the Horizon League Softball Championship Game. Cleveland State will face the winner of RMU and Northern Kentucky who will play an elimination game this afternoon. This marks the first championship game appearance for the Vikings since 2010 and a win would give the Vikings the tournament title for the first time since 2009.
The game was moved up to an 8:00 a.m. first pitch due to impending weather in the Youngstown area and the Vikings seized control right from the start. Melissa Holzopfel fired a scoreless inning in the top of the first and the Cleveland State offense went to work in the bottom of the inning as the Vikings sent all nine hitters to the plate. Cleveland State struck for four runs on the strength of three base hits and two walks. Brooke Albaugh led off with a single, and Becky Hurosky followed with an RBI hit to score Albaugh to open the scoring. A walk to Emma Gilkerson loaded the bases, which brought Peyton Mueller-Stenz to the plate. She reached on a fielder's choice to bring home the second run of the inning. Sophie Spellman reached on a dropped third strike, which allowed Hurosky to score on a wild pitch. Kylie Gorsuch followed with an RBI single to plate the fourth run of the inning as Mueller-Stenz scored on the play. That marked the end of the day for RMU starter Kaitlyn Molitoris as Jaimee Hardy replaced her in the circle. Hardy pitched the rest of the way for the Colonials.
Cleveland State continued the offensive momentum with two more runs in the second inning. Holzopfel helped her own cause with an RBI single to left field to score Albaugh. Two batters later, Gilkerson reached on an infield hit which brought Holzopfel home and expanded the Viking lead to 6-0 through two innings.
Cleveland State added another run in the third inning as Jenna Deang lifted a sacrifice fly to right field which brought Gorsuch in to make it 7-0. Gorsuch finished 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI and a run scored. Six of the nine Viking starters recorded at least one hit in the contest.
The run support was more than enough for Holzopfel who went the distance for the third consecutive game in the tournament and recorded a shutout. The junior right-hander has yielded just one earned run in 26 innings of work in the tournament. Holzopfel scattered seven hits and struck out seven batters while walking just one. Holzopfel recorded her second complete-game shutout of the season and raised her tournament strikeout total to 29.
The Horizon League Championship Game is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Sunday with live coverage available on ESPN+. Visit Horizon League Tournament Central for updated start times and game information.
