The SVSU softball team won five of its eight games last week, improving its overall record to 22-9 and its first-place record in the GLIAC conference to 9-3.
On Sunday, April 2, the team split a doubleheader with Ashland, winning game one 4-1 and losing game two 1-0. The team then traveled to Malone on Monday and swept the doubleheader, winning 2-0 and 12-0.
After the games, junior Meredith Rousse, who registered a home run, an RBI double and two stolen bases in the series against Malone, said the team bounced back well after losing a close game to Ashland.
“Our team played really well all four games,” Rousse said. “We lost one 1-0, but I don’t think anyone was disappointed. We didn’t hit as well as we wanted to that game, but we didn’t let it discourage us. We came out hot against Malone and got the job done like we know how.”
The softball team was riding a streak of 17 wins in its last 19 games when it hosted Wayne State (24-8) on Saturday, April 8.
“Honestly, I think we are doing so well because of team chemistry,” Rousse said of the team’s hot streak. “We all love each other and would do anything for each other, and I think that’s overlooked a lot. Team chemistry goes far. When someone can’t do the job, someone else picks them up. It’s amazing how comfortable we all feel with each other when we play.”
The two teams split the series. SVSU won the first game 4-0, and Wayne State took the second game 4-1.
Samantha Willman took the mound for game one. The senior pitched a complete game shutout while allowing just two hits and striking out four Wayne State batters.
Sophomore Julia Miller hit a two-run home run for the Cardinals in the bottom half of the fourth inning. The rip was the catcher’s third home run of the season.
Junior Courtney Reeves and sophomore Aubree Mouthaan both had two hits in three at-bats.
Junior Danielle Hamilton hit a double in the first inning of the game and scored on an RBI single from Mouthaan. Sophomore Lauren Bachert also hit a double.
Junior Anna Conrad hit a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the sixth inning, which set up the final score for the team.
Willman got the start again for game two, giving up nine hits and four runs in 5.2 innings.
The Cardinals struggled in the second game, only getting three hits as a team. They were held scoreless until the final inning when Conrad hit a sacrifice fly to score Reeves.
Rousse had the team’s lone extra-base hit when she hit a double in the top of the fourth.
Miller added a hit in the seventh inning, and junior Evy Lobdell had the team’s other hit.
On Sunday, April 9, the Cardinals welcomed Hillsdale College. The team dropped the first game of the doubleheader 11-3.
Conrad took the mound in the loss, bumping her record to 6-2. She gave up five hits, four earned runs and eight runs in just over one inning of work.
Hillsdale jumped to a 9-0 lead when the Chargers scored nine runs off the combination of Conrad and senior Annie Hansen in the second inning.
On the offensive side, Hamilton had two of the team’s five hits. Reeves added an RBI.
Freshman Mikayla Alexandrou hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The team made four fielding errors that resulted in five unearned runs over the course of the game.
Willman made her third start in two days on the mound as the team won game two 9-4. She improved to 11-4 on the season. Her 11 wins are third-most in the GLIAC.
SVSU registered 13 hits for the game.
Rousse went 3-4 from the plate with a double and two runs. She also stole a base, giving her the third-most in the conference with 14.
Bachert hit two doubles. Teammate Breanna Dinsmoor, a sophomore, hit a two-RBI double in the top of the third. Lobdell also finished the game with two RBIs.
Sophomore Kennedi Thomas also drove in two runs with a third-inning base hit.
Hamilton went 3-3 from the plate and scored a run.
The team hosts Concordia University on Tuesday, April 11. The doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. at the SVSU Softball Complex.
