Box Score

CLEVELAND -- The series finale between Cleveland State and the Detroit Titans saw the home team capture a 3-2 win on Wednesday afternoon at Viking Field. The Vikings posted all three runs in the bottom half of the first and went on to sweep the three game set.

"Aside from our pitching miscues, we played well defensively and hit the ball decently to create some pressure on their defense today,” said head coach Sunny Jones.

“The fact of the matter is, you cannot play defense on home runs. I felt like we made the proper adjustments after yesterday that led to a competitive game today.  We talk often about bringing all three phases of the game together and today we were close, but unfortunately the first inning was the key.”

Detroit had one error in the series that came in the second game, but allowed six home runs in the three games, including five in the doubleheader on Tuesday.

The final game of the series had the score stay 3-0 until the top of the third when Kat Hoffman came home on a Dani Holmes' RBI liner to centerfield that cut the lead to 3-1. Hoffman reached after hitting a well-placed fly ball that fell in shallow left field between a trio of Viking fielders. After landing, it took a wicked bounce away from all three players giving Hoffman her first career double.

The top of the fifth saw Detroit close to within one as Alyssa Schaub took hold of a pitch and launched it out beyond the centerfield wall for her fifth long ball of the year. The blast made it 3-2 Cleveland State with Holmes coming up to bat. Holmes was the victim of a controversial call in her first at bat as she hit a ball on the chalk down the left field line that was called foul. She came back and posted her second hit of the day in the fifth, but was caught on the base paths trying to stretch out the single.

Pitcher Karyn McCarty allowed just five hits in the circle for the Titans on Wednesday walking two and punching out a pair of Vikings.

The final series of the season for the Titans will come this weekend in Chicago as Detroit will match-up for a doubleheader with Loyola Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (EST) and cap the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Notes: Rachel Copple reached base in all three attempts on the day collecting a pair of singles in both the second and the fourth inning and adding a walk in the top of the sixth… Schaub now has hits in her last four games and is second on the team in home runs… She is also tied for second on the team with 15 RBI… It was the third multi-hit game of the season for Holmes as she also had two hits against Green Bay (4/6 Game 1) and at Butler (4/21 Game 1).