Ferris State Wins Nightcap For Saturday Split At League Leader SVSU

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad went on the road and came away with a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) split versus league leader Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (April 19), beating the Cardinals in the nightcap.

Ferris State suffered a tight 3-2 setback in the opener, but responded with a 7-3 win in game two to garner the split in the battle between two of the league's top squads.

With the split, FSU now holds a 24-14 overall mark in the GLIAC ands its directly behind SVSU with a 13-9 league mark with six games remaining in the regular-season.

In game one, the Bulldogs shutout SVSU for six of the game's seven innings, but Saginaw Valley State struck for three runs in the bottom of the fourth for the game's initial lead and held FSU to only two runs in the sixth in the win. SVSU had seven hits and FSU finished with four.

First baseman Alexis Kozlowski had three of the Bulldogs' four hits and knocked home both runs. Outfielder Emma Gillard managed FSU's other hit while both infielders IJadyn Joseph and Bailey McCalister had sacrifices for the Bulldogs.

In the circle, Catherine O'Donohue suffered the loss for the Bulldogs despite giving up only the three runs and four hits overall. She had five walks with two strikeouts. Cecelia Bell threw in relief for two and one-third innings, allowing no runs on three hits with one strikeout and one walk.

In game two, the Bulldogs broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the top of the fourth. SVSU answered with a run in the bottom of the frame, but the Bulldogs game back with one run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. SVSU scored twice in its final at-bat before the Bulldogs closed the door. Overall, the Cardinals finished with eight hits and the Bulldogs had seven.

Kozlowski had two more hits in game two while catcher Paige Antcliff had two his and drove in three runs for the Bulldogs. Outfielders Breanna Blair and Maddie Gkekas both also had an RBI for FSU.

Ferris State's Ella Covill-Marter earned the win in the circle, giving up a single earned run on three hits with three walks and a strikeout in four innings of work. O'Donohue tossed two and one-third innings, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Bell threw two-thirds of an inning of scoreless action while giving up a single hit.

The Bulldogs will return home to host Wayne State in a rescheduled doubleheader on Tuesday, April 22, at the FSU Softball Field. The opening game begins at 3 p.m. (ET) with game two slated to follow at approximately 5 p.m. (ET) as the Bulldogs celebrate Senior Day in conjunction with the final home games.