Big Rapids, Mich. - Strong pitching helped lead the Tiffin Dragons to a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road sweep over the Ferris State University softball team on Saturday (April 11) at the FSU Softball Field in Big Rapids.
The Dragons did not surrender a run on the day as they topped FSU 4-0 in game one and came back with a 7-0 triumph in the nightcap of the league doubleheader.
In Saturday's opening game, the Bulldogs gave up a pair of RBI singles from Jena King before the Dragons added two more runs on a Samantha Ringwalt single in the fifth inning.
The story of game one, though, was the play of Tiffin starting pitcher Kimmy Reynolds. Reynolds threw a complete game shutout and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before it was broke up by a Sarah Johnson infield single.
In the opener, Tiffin scored a single run in both the first and third innings while adding two more in the fifth to account for all the scoring against the Bulldogs. The Dragons totaled nine hits to one for FSU with both teams finishing with two errors in the field.
TU's Reynolds moved to 9-3 overall this year with the complete-game shutout in the circle. She posted nine strikeouts with two walks in seven innings of work.
Johnson accounted for FSU's lone hit of the game. Meanwhile, Cassandra Brown doubled with both Ringwalt and King posting two RBI's each in the opener for the Dragons.
Senior pitcher Cara DeLange started the contest for the Bulldogs and allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks and strikeouts apiece in four and two-thirds innings of work. Sophomore Megan Hiler pitched in relief and did not give up a run on two hits in two and one-third innings.
In game two, the Dragons scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning on four hits and they added two more in the fourth en route to completing the sweep. TU pounded out 13 hits in the final game of the twinbill and limited FSU to only two hits in the contest.
Game two featured another strong pitching performance by the Dragons, as Sarah Brown gave up only one hit in six innings of work. Brown finished the game with 12 strikeouts.
A pair of two-run doubles by Tamara Link and Cassandra Brown gave the Dragons a 5-0 advantage in the second inning. King added another RBI in the inning to give her three on the afternoon.
Tiffin then totaled two more runs in the forth inning with Delaney Mixer driving home two runs on a single. Mixer finished the game going 2-for-3 in the outing.
Brown accounted for two RBI's in the finale for the Dragons with Mixer and Link also adding two runs batted in each. Link, Brown and Madison Yanek all posted doubles and a total of five individuals had multiple hits for the Dragons in game two.
Ferris State's two hits in the nightcap came from Johnson along with left fielder Sam Bates.
In game two, Tiffin's Sarah Brown picked up the win for her seventh victory this season with a one-hit effort in six innings of action. She also had 12 K's and walked none in moving to 7-4 on the year. Kelsey Yaratch pitched the final inning and allowed only a hit with one strikeout.
FSU's Megan Vanderwal started game two and surrendered five runs on four hits with two walks in one and two-thirds innings. Hiler pitched the final four and one-third innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with both a walk and strikeout.
The Bulldogs, who are currently midst a 16-game league homestand, are back in action on Sunday (April 12) as they host Ohio Dominican at the FSU Softball Field. Game one begins at 12 p.m. (ET) with game two to follow at approximately 2 p.m. (ET).
