Box Scores
Game 1   Detroit 2 CSU 4
Game 2   Detroit 2 CSU 9

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland State Vikings captured a pair of wins over Detroit in softball action on Tuesday afternoon at Viking Field as the Titans fell 4-2 in opener and 9-2 in the back end.

Game 1
The Titans started off on the right foot as the first three batters of the game all reached base. Leadoff hitter Alyssa Schaub reached as she was hit by the first pitch of the game as the Titans now lead the league with 32 hit-by-pitches on the season. A single by Kat Hoffman advanced her to second and Sara Cupp brought Schaub in with an opposite field fly to put Detroit ahead 1-0. The RBI was Cupp's 33rd as she moved within five of the Titan single season record.

The second inning began with Karyn McCarty reaching first with a hard hit grounder to short that was too hot to handle. After a sacrifice attempt and another hard grounder, Dani Holmes brought McCarty home with a short fly ball to center that fell in for a hit bringing in McCartyy and putting Detroit up 2-0 with five hits in the first two frames.

A pair of home runs in the bottom of the second erased that lead and put the Vikings out in front 3-2.

Detroit threatened in the top of the sixth as Rachel Copple and Vanessa Garcia reached base to lead off the inning, but the offense was held at bay keeping the score stagnant.

Cleveland State added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a liner that barely escaped out over the centerfield wall for a home run. The next batter again sent a ball sailing to center, but Schaub made a nice defensive play on the warning track for the catch. McCarty kept the Titans within two ending the inning as she had the final Viking batter watching a pitch cross the outside corner for a called third strike.

McCarty finished with six innings of work scattering five hits and punching out a pair of Vikings, while allowing four runs.

Game 2
The Titans started off with a bang as Schaub hit the first pitch of game two out to the gap in leftcenter field for her second hit of the day.

The Vikings took to the board first in the bottom of the second and added six in the third for a 7-0 lead with the killer being a three-run blast.

The top half of the fourth inning saw a pair of Detroit runs cut the Cleveland State to 7-2. A walk and a groundout later gave Garcia an RBI opportunity and she made no mistake with a single to left cashing in Kat Hoffman. The inning would continue to see the Titans pressure as McCarty drove in Hannah Klenk on a sacrifice fly for another run.

The game was held at 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth as Alyssa Gietl stabbed at a hard liner on the hot corner for a great catch end the Cleveland State fifth.

The final hurrah for Detroit in the top of the sixth started with the first two Titan batters reaching base. No more Titan runs would cross as Detroit left a combined 12 runners stranded on the base paths in the two games.

The series will wrap up Wednesday afternoon at 3pm with that game also to be available for free on the Horizon League Network.

Notes: Dani Holmes' older sister Brandy is a junior on the Vikings.