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April 7, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spring Schedule Hits High Gear. . . Four Cleveland State spring sports will try to take advantage of the warming spring temperatures in the Greater Cleveland area by competing at home this week. Five teams are in action with all but one playing multiple events this week. The tennis teams will close out their home schedules with a pair of matches at the Malaga Tennis Center. The women open the weekend by hosting Green Bay on Friday (April 11) at 1:00 p.m. and then take on Milwaukee on Saturday (April 12) at 4:00 p.m. The men will host Green Bay on Saturday (April 12) at 12:00 noon and then close the week with a 1:00 p.m. match on Sunday (April 13) against Youngstown State. The baseball team will play five of its six games on the road this week. CSU will play three mid-week games this week, playing single contests at Eastern Michigan on Monday (April 7), Canisius on Tuesday (April 8) and at home against Malone on Wednesday (April 9) at 5:00 p.m. at the Pipe Yard in Lorain, Ohio. The Vikings will then head to Milwaukee for a three-game series against the Panthers, playing a single game at 3:00 p.m. on Friday (April 11) and a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 12). The softball team will play five of its seven games away from home as well. The week opens with a Tuesday (April 8) doubleheader at Eastern Michigan. The Vikings then return home for a Horizon League doubleheader against Detroit on Thursday (April 10) at 2:00 p.m. at Viking Field. The final three contests will be in Green Bay, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday (April 12) and a single game on Sunday (April 13). Softball Plays Five Horizon League Games This Week. . . The Viking softball team (15-8, 4-2 HL) will play seven games this week, including five league games. The schedule opens with a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 8) and then moves back to Viking Field when CSU hosts Detroit for a Horizon League doubleheader on Thursday (April 10) at 2:00 p.m. The Vikings will then travel to Green Bay for a three-game series over the weekend, playing a doubleheader on Saturday (April 12) and a single game on Sunday (April 13). This week will go a long way in helping determine whether the Vikings can compete for the regular season Horizon League softball crown as CSU plays five games against teams that are a combined 1-10 in league play this season. "This is an important week for us," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "For us to be in contention for the Horizon League title, we need to do well in these five league games. I feel good about where we are right now because we are hitting the ball as well right now as we have all season with several batters coming out of early season slumps. If we are aggressive at the plate like I know that we can be, we can do well in this league." Fielding problems hurt the Vikings last week as 12 CSU errors led to 12 of the 18 runs allowed being unearned as the Vikings went 3-2, splitting a doubleheader at Robert Morris on Thursday and taking two of three from Butler over the weekend. Viking bats came alive last week as CSU hit .299 as a team in the five games. Led by freshman Amy Powell, who hit .462 (6-13) in four games, six CSU players hit .333 or better. Christa Coppus went seven-for 16 (.438) to raise her season average to .403 to rank fifth in the Horizon League. Haley Keller hit .400 (6-15), including a grand slam against Robert Morris. Sophomore Amanda Macenko was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this year after throwing 30 of the 39 innings last week, going 2-2 with a 0.47 ERA and one save. She struck out 30 and walked just one, having her streak of 35.1 innings without a walk end in the second game against Butler. Baseball Plays Five Of Six On The Road. . . Cleveland State (8-12, 3-3 HL) has a busy week ahead as the Vikings will play six games in six days, including a three-game Horizon League series at Milwaukee on Friday (April 11) and Saturday (April 12). Prior to that, CSU will play at Eastern Michigan on Monday (April 7) and at Canisius on Tuesday (April 8). The Vikings will also host Malone for a nonconference tilt on Wednesday (April 9) at the Pipe Yard beginning at 5:00 p.m. "We played in four one-run games last week and won just one so I was disappointed about that," head coach Kevin Kocks said. "But we are learning what it takes to win and we need to get the offense on track. Our starting pitching has been great this season and now we have to find a way to give them some more run support. We still have a long way to go to get where we want to be." The Vikings opened last week with a 9-8 loss at Ohio. CSU trailed 8-2 heading into the ninth, but rallied to score six runs in the ninth before OU won it with a run in the bottom of the ninth. The Vikings then took the opener of a three-game series from Wright State, 6-5, before the Raiders responded to win the final two games, 5-4 and 3-2, to win the series. Senior Kyle Bischof went 6-for-11 (.545) with two home runs and four RBI against Wright State to pace the offense. CSU received three outstanding starts over the weekend as Josh Hungerman and Brian Long worked eight innings apiece, while Sam Suitca fired his first career complete game. Vasili Pahoulis earned his third save of the season in CSU's win on Saturday (April 5). Bischof, who has homered in five of the last seven games, is hitting .348 with six homers and 21 RBI, while Brad Buell has contributed a .308 batting average with a team-leading six doubles and six stolen bases. Wright State & Butler Up Next For Men's Tennis. . . The Cleveland State men's tennis team (12-5) will have a busy week at home when it hosts Green Bay on Saturday, April 12 at 12:00 noon and Youngstown State on Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. "It was great to see Phil keep his win streak alive this weekend," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We played well against Wright State, but at Butler we needed one or two guys to step up for us. We still have some work to do to prepare for the conference tournament." The men won their Horizon League opener against Wright State on Saturday, defeating the Raiders 5-2. The following day the Vikings fell to Butler, 4-3, to put the team at 1-1 in the Horizon League. Sophomore Phil Orno (20-9) won both of his No.1 singles matches, stretching his win streak to 13 straight. Senior Brad Groleski (12-7) and freshman Robert Fox (19-7) also won both of their singles matches over the weekend, at Nos. 3 and 6 singles, respectively. Fox has won 10 consecutive singles matches, last losing February 8 against Duquesne. Women's Tennis Hosts Milwaukee & Green Bay. . . The Cleveland State women's tennis team (13-6) continues its Horizon League schedule when the Vikings host Green Bay on Friday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m. and Milwaukee on Saturday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m. "We got a big win against Wright State, but could not hold the lead against Butler," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The upcoming weekend is now much more important for the league championship." The Vikings went 1-1 last weekend, sweeping Wright State, 7-0 on Saturday, and falling to Butler, 4-3 on Sunday. CSU is now 2-2 against Horizon League opponents. Senior Jenn Myers (13-13) won both of her No. 3 singles matches over the weekend. Freshman Sanda Bjelan (20-9) won both at No. 4 singles and sophomore Charlotte Gibbons (15-5) won her No. 5 singles matches for the weekend. The freshmen duo of Melissa Holzinger and Jackie Tabb, won both of their No. 3 doubles matches against Wright State and Butler. Men's Golf Competes At Wright State Invitational. . . Cleveland State returns to action when the Vikings compete in the 54-hole Wright State Invitational on Sunday (April 6) and Monday (April 7) at the par-72, 7,007-yard Greene Country Club in Fairborn, Ohio. CSU opened the tournament by playing 18 holes on Sunday and will conclude the event with 36 holes on Monday. "We have been playing well as a team this spring," head coach Steve Weir said. "We have played in some good tournaments against good competition and that will help us as we continue to prepare for the Horizon League Championship later this month." The Vikings placed third of nine teams at the one-day, 36-hole Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday (April 5). CSU opened with a 294 and was in fourth place, but rallied to shoot a 289 in the afternoon round to move up one place and finish third. Junior Jake Scott shot consecutive rounds of 72 to finish tied for 12th, along with sophomore teammate Kyle Cobb, who carded a 75 in the first round before coming back with a 69 in the final round. Scott, who has earned the last two Horizon League Golfer of the Week honors, continues to lead the team with a 72.5 scoring average. Ball State Invitational Next Up For Women's Golf. . . The women's golf team will take the week off before returning to competitive action on Monday and Tuesday (April 14-15) at the 36-hole Ball State Invitational. The event will be contested at the par-70, 5,419-yard Delaware Country Club in Muncie, Ind. "We were having a decent spring season, but then played our worst tournament of the season at Cincinnati," head coach Steve Wier said. "We were in contention to have a top three of four finish, but just imploded in the final round. We need to figure out how to improve upon that round as we get closer to the league championship." The Vikings seemed to be in good position at the Cincinnati Invitational, shooting rounds of 335 and 333 to open the tournament and sit in fourth place. However, the Vikings carded a 353, their highest total of the spring, in the final round to finish ninth of 10 teams. Junior Mallory Wyderka (80-80-88) carded a 54-hole total of 248 to finish tied for 15th, while sophomore Katie Broere added rounds of 81-83-86 (250) to tie for 18th place. Viking High Fives CSU Starting Pitchers: Josh Hungerman, Brian Long and Sam Suitca combined to work 25 of the 27 innings against Wright State over the weekend. Hungerman and Long threw eight innings each and Suitca fired a complete game. Kyle Bischof: The senior has hit a home run in five of the last seven games, including two over the weekend against Wright State. Amy Powell & Katelyn Ciminelli: The softball freshman duo swung big bats for CSU last week, Powell hitting a team-best .462 in four games (6-13) while Ciminelli batted .333 (3-9) with a key two-run homer on Sunday. Amanda Macenko: Not only did the sophomore tie the school record for saves in a season (3) last week, but she had string of consecutive innings without a walk end at 35.1. She has only walked two batters in her last nine appearances (covering 58 innings). The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings April 7 (Monday) Men's Golf at Wright State Invitational April 8 (Tuesday) Softball at Eastern Michigan (2) April 9 (Wednesday) April 10 (Thursday) April 11 (Friday) Baseball at Milwaukee April 12 (Saturday) Baseball at Milwaukee (2) Women's Tennis hosts Milwaukee Softball at Green Bay (2) April 13 (Sunday) Softball at Green Bay
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