May 10, 2008

Final Stats

Contact: Brian McCann

CHICAGO, Ill. - Wright State scored single runs in the second and third innings and the Vikings could manage just a pair of hits as the Raiders ended CSU's hopes of a NCAA bid with a 2-0 win in the championship game of the Horizon League Championship.

Cleveland State (31-18), which won the regular season title, finishes second in the tournament for the third straight year. Wright State (33-24) claimed its second straight tourney title.

"This is a terribly disappointing loss," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We just didn't get it done. We hit the ball hard all day but it seemed to be at somebody every time."

"We put ourselves into a tough situation by losing last night and I thought we came ready to play today. Amanda ran into some problems early in the game but she bounced back to really throw well down the stretch.

"I couldn't be prouder of this team. Although we didn't reach our ultimate goal of going to the NCAA's, we did accomplish an awful lot and with just one senior (Whitney Willard), we should be back and even better next year."

Wright State took a 1-0 lead in the second when Mollie Berry tripled off the fence in right center with two outs and scored on a passed ball. The Raiders strung together four hits in the third, including an RBI single by Louie Haney, to take a 2-0 lead.

The Vikings left runners at first and third in the second and didn't have a hit until a Christa Coppus single in the fourth. THE Vikings' best opportunity to score came in the fifth when Christina Stoffer doubled off the right field wall , but she was left on third when Natalie DeMatteis grounded out to end the inning.

Wright State's Sharon Palma went the distance to improve to 19-8 and earn the tourney's MVP trophy.

Amanda Houchin, Amanda Macenko, Katelyn Ciminelli and Jessica Burt each earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

The loss ends the Vikings' year, a season which saw CSU win 30 games for the third straight year.