April 18, 2009
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Lia Gordon hit a grand slam and drive in six runs and Amanda Macenko pitched the Vikings to a pair of complete game victories as CSU swept Youngstown State, 6-2 and 7-2 on Friday night at Viking Field.
The sweep, CSU's 11th win in the last 12 games, improved the Vikings to 24-13 overall and 12-3 in conference play. Youngstown State slipped to 6-29, 3-13.
"I was concerned that we might be a little bit rusty because we didn't get to play any mid-week games this week because of the weather, but that wasn't the case," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We hit the ball pretty well from every spot in the lineup and we had a lot of chances to score runs.
"Because we were hitting like we were, I took a couple of chances on the bases that I might ordinarily not do and they didn't pan out, but I like being aggressive.
"It was a perfect day to play. After playing in the cold weather the last couple of weeks, it was good to get out in the sun. Hopefully, we can keep this weather the rest of the season."
The Vikings worked with surgical precision to win the first game, scoring runs in five of their first six at bats.
Christa Coppus opened the scoring with a solo homerun to left with two outs in the first. It was her seventh long ball of the season and 19th of her career.
CSU made it 2-0 in the third when Coppus walked with two outs and went to third on a single by Lia Gordon. Coppus then scored when Gordon intentionally got into a run down between first and second, with Coppus crossing the plate before Gordon was tagged out.
After setting down the first nine Penguins in order, YSU got to starter Amanda Macenko in the fourth. Haley Thomas led off with a single to left. One out later, Kim Klonowski blasted a two-run homer to left to even the game at 2-2.
That would be all Youngstown State would get as Macenko retired 11 of the last 12 batters, including six on strikeouts.
The Vikings however were not finished.
CSU regained the lead for good in the fourth when Natalie DeMatteis singled with two outs and came around to score on a double by Amy Powell.
The Vikings pushed the lead to 5-2 in the fifth when Gordon doubled to score Alicia Nichols, who had singled. Christina Stoffer ran for Gordon and scored on a single by Houchin.
The final run of the opener was plated in the sixth when Nichols singled to score DeMatteis.
Nichols, Gordon, Houchin and DeMatteis each had two hits as part of a 10-hit Viking attack.
Macenko picked up the win, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out 10 batters.
The Vikings jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the nightcap, scoring one in the first and a pair of runs in the third.
Alicia Nichols led off the game with a walk, stole second and scored on a Danielle Young infield double.
The Vikings runs in the third came following RBI singles by Lia Gordon and Natalie DeMatteis.
Macenko cruised through the first five innings, allowing just two baserunners, but ran into problems in the sixth.
After Allyse Ledford opened the inning with a double, Macenko got the next two batters to pop up before Klonowski blasted her second homerun of the night to left field to bring YSU to within 3-2.
CSU loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the frame. Amy Powell was hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second. Alicia Nichols was safe on a fielder's choice when YSU failed to tag pinch runner Christina Stoffer as she ran back to second on a ground ball to third. Both runners advanced on a ground ball out and Christa Coppus was intentionally walked.
Lia Gordon put the game out of reach by blasting her ongoing school-record 12th home run of the season to left field to put CSU ahead, 7-2. It capped off a brilliant doubleheader for Gordon, who went four-for-four with a pair of walks, a home run, double, a hit by pitch, six RBI and two runs scored.
Macenko finished off the Penguins in the seventh to improve to 20-9 on the year and set a CSU school record with her third 20-win season. She allowed two runs on five hits, striking out nine with just one walk.
CSU pounded out 19 hits in the doubleheader. Natalie DeMatteis had a pair of two-hit games, going four for six. Coppus led the way with four runs scored with Nichols adding three.
The Vikings will conclude the three-game series with Youngstown State with a single game on Saturday (April 18) beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Viking Field.
