Butler Drops Final Game At Cleveland State

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Cleveland State scored two runs without the benefit of a hit and held on to defeat visiting Butler, 2-1, in the final game of a three-game Horizon League series on Sunday.  It was Butler’s second one-run loss in two days to the first place Vikings.

Butler freshman Jenny Esparza held the Vikings without a hit through three-and-a-third innings, but she struggled with control problems in the fourth inning and gave up two runs on three walks, a pair of hit batters and a wild pitch.

That was all that Cleveland State starter Amanda Macenko needed.  Pitching her third straight game in the series, the senior right-hander allowed just one run on five hits while recording her school-record 30th win of the season.  She had seven strikeouts and allowed just one walk.

Macenko (30-11) pitched all 21 innings in the series against Butler and helped the Vikings improve to 36-11 on the year and 16-2 in league play.

The Bulldogs (35-14, 11-8 HL) tallied their lone run in the game in the top of the sixth inning on singles by Meaghan Sullivan and Lauren McNulty and a two-out, run-scoring single by freshman Devin Dearing.

Esparza and sophomore Breanna Fisher combined on a one-hitter in the game.  It was Butler’s second one-hitter in the series, and Cleveland State won both contests.