Softball Sweeps Lake Superior State With 6-5 Win In Second Game
The Ferris State University softball team won its 20th game of the 2010 season as the Bulldogs prevailed by a 6-5 margin over Lake Superior State this Monday (April 19) in game two of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader at LSSU's Kaunisto Field in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
The twinbill sweep improved the Bulldogs to 20-13 on the year and 11-6 in the GLIAC while Lake Superior State fell to 8-30 overall and 3-13 in league outings this spring.
Senior pitcher Kayle Stevenson (Holland/West Ottawa) gave up a run apiece to LSSU in the first two innings, but Ferris State was able to draw into a 2-2 tie in the bottom half of the second with a pair of runs on as many base hits. Senior designated player Rhea Flores (Dearborn Heights/Southgate Anderson) along with junior catcher Rachel Mueller (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) both scored on a single by junior shortstop Lynsay Weaver (Bay City/All Saints). Flores lead off the stanza with a single and Mueller reached base on walk.
Ferris State broke the deadlock in the third inning as senior outfielder Rachel Wade (Canton) recorded a leadoff triple and then came home following a sacrifice RBI flyout by freshman outfielder Morgan Kramerich (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport). The Bulldogs tacked on their fourth run to go up 4-2 later in the third as sophomore first baseman Chelsea Morris (Jenison) singled home sophomore third baseman Makenzi Peterson (Big Rapids), who had singled following Kramerich's sacrifice fly.
Lake Superior State would get one back in the top of the fourth inning with a single run to get within 4-3. However, Ferris State would strike back in the fifth by tallying two runs on three hits and a LSSU error. Makenzi Peterson doubled to score sophomore outfielder Stephanie Dusendang (Comstock Park/Rockford), who reached base on an error. Chelsea Morris' RBI double resulted in the Bulldogs adding another run to claim a 6-3 advantage through five frames.
The Bulldogs' lead started to shrink in the top of the seventh as the Lakers came back with a pair of runs on two hits and a two Ferris State miscues. LSSU had the potential tying run at second base with two outs, but FSU hurler Kayle Stevenson recorded her fourth strikeout to end the game.
Kayle Stevenson (9-6) turned in a complete-game effort as she gave up nine hits and five runs, just one earned, to go with three walks and four strikeouts. Christine Larkin (2-11) went six innings for the Lakers and allowed five earned runs and walked two.
Makenzi Peterson, Rhea Flores, and Chelsea Morris paced the Ferris State hitting assault with two apiece. Morris and Lynsay Weaver each drove in two runs to lead the Bulldogs in that statistical department.
Ferris State, which has won 11 of its last 15 outings, will make its final regular-season home appearance this Wednesday (April 21) with a lone conference tilt versus the Northwood Timberwolves. Opening pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (EDT) at the FSU Varsity Softball Field in Big Rapids, Mich. The contest is a make-up matchup from April 3 when the regularly-slated second game was postponed due to rain.