Box Score The Ashland University softball team will live to play another day.
Friday (May 2) afternoon in Findlay, the Eagles defeated Saginaw Valley State, 6-1 in an elimination game. The victory sends the Eagles into a 10 a.m., game on Saturday against the loser of Friday's Findlay-Grand Valley State game. AU went 1-1 againt both of those teams this season.
The Eagles lost their first game on Friday, 4-3 to Wayne State. They regrouped in a hurry and used a four-run fourth inning to take control of the game against the Cardinals. That frame saw shortstop Jamie Weber score on a bases-load walk, second baseman Cayla Seidler score on a wild pitch and third baseman Kayla Prokopakis drive in two runs with a double.
Ashland built its lead to 6-0 with two runs in the sixth inning. Prokopakis got the first run home on a bunt and catcher Bri Buckley singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Sarah Alley.
Prokopakis and center fielder Taylor Menhart had two hits each. AU collected nine hits off of a trio of SVSU pitchers and with a little better timely hitting, could have built a larger margin. Ashland left 12 runners on base.
The Cardinals scored their lone run in the seventh inning. Alley (11-8) pitched a complete game, limiting the Cards to a run on six hits. She walked one and struck out one.
The win gives Ashland a 26-17 record. The Eagles are ranked sixth in the Midwest Region. Saginaw Valley State is 26-11 and is out of this double-elimination tournament.
The Eagles are seeded seventh in the tournament.
AU
SB/ALK
