UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - On an afternoon in which pitching dominated, it was one hit in the 13th inning by Saginaw Valley State's Angela Kaiser that decided a 2-1 win for the Cardinals in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional.
Kaiser's single to left field drove in pinch-runner Kim Sills with the winning run and ended the marathon game that lasted three hours, 30 minutes. Saginaw Valley State improved to 37-9 and advanced to the winner's round.
NKU dropped to 32-22 and will play either Lewis or Ferris State at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in an elimination game. The Lewis/Ferris State game, originally set to follow NKU's contest with Saginaw Valley State, could not be started due to impending darkness Saturday and will start at 9 a.m. Sunday.
NKU starter
April Ehlers pitched brilliantly and took a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning in a scoreless game. Ehlers gave way to
Chelsie Roy after 11 innings in the circle, having surrendered just one run and four hits. She also struck out six batters.
NKU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 11th inning when
Gretchen Lorenz scored after an error by second baseman Ashley Coffin. Saginaw Valley State countered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Coffin to tie the game at 1-all.
It remained that way until the 13th inning, when the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs. Kaiser ended the game with her RBI single.
NKU will have to win three times Sunday to advance to next week's super regional. Saginaw Valley State needs to win just once Sunday to earn the right to host next week's super regional. Ashland, the No. 1 team in the Midwest Region, was eliminated Saturday.
