SVSU Splits Pair
Feb. 25, 2001

FT. MYERS, FL – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team split two games Sunday on its Spring Trip, beating Augustana College, SD, by an 8-7 margin, then losing to GLIAC rival Gannon University, 5-0. The Lady Cardinals jumped out to a 6-1 fifth-inning lead against Augustana, but the Vikings came back to take the lead with six runs in the fifth. Junior right-hander Carrie Shay (Flint/Burton Bendle) tossed four and a third innings, but yielded seven runs (five earned), on six hits and two walks, while striking out two. A pair of errors in the fifth contributed to the Augustana rally. "Carrie was cruising into the fifth inning," said coach Fred Neering, "then she got cautious and lost her concentration." Freshman righty Courtney Pintek (Flushing) came on to pick up the win with two and a third innings of one-hit, scoreless relief. She improved to 2-0, while striking out three, including a pair in the seventh inning with the tying run on second base. SVSU scored twice in the top of the seventh to regain the lead. An error and a walk set the table for junior Brandi Srda's (Clio) RBI single, then senior Tiffany Martin (Flushing) singled on a suicide squeeze bunt to drive in the winning run. Srda went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, while Martin was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Nine Cardinals struck out in the shutout against Gannon. Junior April Vega (Essexville/Garber) had two of the six SVSU hits. Freshman Christina Fuciarelli (Washington/Harper Woods Regina) made her collegiate debut, but retired only one batter in the first. She walked three and gave up three hits, spotting the Knights a 4-0 lead. Pintek came on to work the final six and two-thirds innings, yielding three hits and fanning five. "We had runners on second and third a couple of times with two outs, but couldn't get a big hit," said Neering, noting a two-hour break between games. "We just didn't come tough to play. We sat around for two hours and came out flat. "We've done some good things, so far. We need to stay focused." SVSU is 2-2 overall and has a pair of games Monday, facing Capitol University, OH at 1 p.m. and Albany University, NY at 3 p.m.