April 18, 2009
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Amanda Macenko threw a five-hit shutout and the Vikings erupted for eight runs in the fourth inning as CSU raced past Youngstown State, 9-0, in five innings on Saturday at Viking Field to complete the three-game sweep this weekend.
CSU, which has now won 12 of its last 13 games, improved to 25-13 overall and 13-3 in Horizon League play. YSU slipped to 6-30, 3-14.
"We hit the ball hard all day long," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "Even our outs were hit hard so I knew that it was just a matter of time before we put some runs on the board.
"The first inning was a perfect example. Christa (Coppus) leads off with a line drive out to right field and Danielle (Young) follows with a line drive right to the shortstop. Both were outs, but they each could have easily been extra-base hits.
"It is a good time of the season to be playing good, solid softball because we have a big series with UIC coming up this week," Nicholson added.
After the first two batters line out in the first, CSU took a 1-0 lead when Amanda Houchin blasted a line drive into the batting cages in left field for her sixth homerun of the season.
The score remained that way until the bottom of the fourth when CSU put together nine hits and a hit batter to blow open the game.
The assault started in the bottom of the lineup when Mimi Mahon, Andrea Nagy and Amy Powell led off the frame with consecutive doubles to put the Vikings ahead, 3-0.
Shalyn Adams, Coppus, Young and Houchin followed with four straight singles to push the lead to 7-0. After Lia Gordon was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Natalie DeMatteis stroked a single to score a run and the ninth CSU run of the game came across on a throwing error.
That was more than enough for Macenko, who struck out three without a walk in five innings to improve to 21-9 on the year. It was her school-record 73rd career victory.
"Amanda was tough all weekend long," Nicholson said. "She has really been on her game of later with excellent control."
Houchin led the offensive attack by going two-for-three with three RBI and two runs scofred. Houchin, DeMatteis, Mahon and Adams each had a pair of hits as par of a 13-hit barrage by CSU.
CSU stroked three doubles in the game to tie the school record for doubles in a season with 64.
The Vikings return to action on Wednesday (April 22) when CSU continues its 11-game home stand with a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader against Robert Morris at Viking Field.
