OAKLAND UNIVERSITY ROUNDUP: North Dakota State blanks Oakland; Trolla to depart

ROCHESTER HILLS – Erin Galloway had a base hit and Jackie Kisman added a base knock as the Oakland Softball team (3-18, 1-8) fell in the series finale to North Dakota State (22-11, 6-0) with a final score of 6-0 at the OU Softball Field Saturday afternoon.

“This was a tough game today against a good team,” said head coach LaDonia Hughes.  “Once we find a way to put everything together, pitching, hitting and in the field, we will be okay.”

North Dakota State’s Krista Menke (13-6) threw a complete game, two-hit shutout striking out seven batters and not surrendering a walk to earn the victory.  Abbie Richardson (2-2) suffered the loss giving up four earned runs and striking out one batter.

After three scoreless innings, NDSU loaded the bases in the fourth inning when Cristina Borek hit a grand slam over the left-field fence to give the Bison the lead.  North Dakota State would push one more run across in the inning when Oakland tried to catch Jamie Gay in a run-down but was able to score.

The Bison would add one more run in the fifth inning as Taylor Mortensen led off with a triple to center field and Katie Tamayo drove her in two batters later with a single up the middle for the final score of 6-0.

The Golden Grizzlies will be on the field again on Wednesday when they host Eastern Michigan in a double header at the OU Softball Field starting at 2 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Trolla to depart coaching staff

ROCHESTER HILLS  — Katie Trolla has decided to step away from her position as an assistant coach on the Oakland women’s basketball staff, head coach Beckie Francis announced on Friday. Trolla, who also played at OU, is leaving to pursue personal opportunities outside of coaching, in order to spend more time with her family.

Trolla was involved in player development, scouting, and camps. During her time on the bench, the Golden Grizzlies won the 2006 Summit League Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.

“I understand Katie choosing her family over the coaching profession and I support her decision,” said Francis. “There is no way to replace Katie. I’ve known her since 1997, when she was my first recruit to Oakland. As a player and coach we’ve won five league championships together and she will be missed.”

The Golden Grizzlies also won the 2006-07 Summit League regular-season title and advanced to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in both 2007 and 2009. The Golden Grizzlies advanced to the league title game four times during her tenure.

“Oakland has been my ‘home’ since 1998,” said Trolla. “It was a great place to be a student-athlete and a wonderful place to work. Oakland Basketball has meant the world to me and it’s hard to step away but I’m looking forward to spending more time with my son, Lincoln, and my husband, Joe.”

SOFTBALL: North Dakota State sweeps Golden Grizzlies in home opener

ROCHESTER HILLS — Kelsey Krych had four hits while Erika Polidori blasted her fourth home run of the season as the Oakland softball team (3-17, 1-7) had their home opening doubleheader spoiled by North Dakota State (21-11, 5-0), 6-0 and 5-1, on Friday afternoon at the OU Softball Field.

“This was the first time we played two full games without giving up,” said head coach LaDonia Hughes.  “I liked the effort by our pitching staff as this was a stepping stone for them today.  We just couldn’t get the bats going today and we just didn’t execute when we had golden opportunities.”

In the first game, Krych had two singles, while Polidori and Abbie Richardson added base hits.  Richardson (2-1) suffered the loss throwing 5.0 inning, giving up four runs, three earned, and striking out two batters.

North Dakota State jumped out to an early lead when Cristina Borek hit a solo home run in the second inning and Amanda Gamble hit a two-run homerun in the fifth inning.  The Bison would tack on two more runs in the seventh inning as Katie Tamayo would hit NDSU’s third home run of the game for the final score of 6-0.

The Bison’s Krista Menke (12-6) earned the victory throwing a complete-game shutout, surrendering only four hits and striking out eight batters.

In the nightcap, Krych added two more hits and Polidori hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.  Brittany Doyle (1-6) suffered the loss throwing a complete game, giving up five earned runs while striking out eight batters.

With the score tied 0-0 in the top of the fourth inning, NDSU would push across the first run of the game as Preley Glaser scored on a wild pitch. The Bison would score two runs in the fifth inning as Tamayo and Grable had a pair of RBI hits.  NDSU added two more runs in the sixth inning as Alex Sobrero hit an RBI-single and Brandi Enriquez hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the final score of 5-1.

Whitney Johnson (9-5) earned the victory throwing a complete game, giving up one earned run, while striking out nine batters.

WOMEN’S GOLF: Ecker 24^th at UC Spring Invite

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Liz Ecker shot a second round of 78 (+6) to finish day two in a tie for 24th place with a total score of 153 (+9) to lead the Oakland women’s golf team at the UC Spring Invitational on Friday at Plantation Inn Golf Course (Par 72, 6,161 yards). The Golden Grizzlies are tied for 14th place after shooting a second round 318 for a total score of 638 (+62).

Alanna Gerber finished the second day with a score of 80 and stands in a tie for 40th place with a total score of 158 (+14). Florida International leads after shooting 294 (+6) in the second round and is 21 shots in front of Stetson. FIU’s Shelby Cove carded an even 72 for a total score of 141 (-3) and holds a 3-shot lead over North Dakota State’s Amy Anderson (E).

The final round of the tournament will commence with a shot gun start on Sunday morning.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Michigan State edges Oakland, 2-1

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Nolan Jacoby was 2-for-3 for Oakland (3-14) in a tight, 2-1, loss to Michigan State (11-7) on Friday at McClane Stadium. Both teams finished the day with seven hits and the score was tied heading into the eighth inning.

“We got outstanding starting pitching from Jeff Gorecki,” said Oakland coach John Musachio. “We had our opportunities to take the lead early in the game, but failed to take advantage of those chances.”

Oakland jumped out to a lead in the first inning. Tim Ryan reached on an error and then stole two bases before scoring on an RBI-single by Aaron Cieslak. The cleanup hitter, Cieslak leads OU with 12 RBIs this season and was the only Golden Grizzlies player with multiple hits in the game.

Michigan State tied the game in the third when Jared Hook hit a leadoff double and eventually came in to score on a sacrifice fly. The Spartans took the lead in the eighth when Tony Wieber doubled to left center to drive in Jordan Keur from first. Wieber finished the game 2-for-3 and was one of three Spartans with two hits.

Oakland reliever Brian Jagielo managed to get OU out of the eighth inning without further damage. Inheriting a runner on third and one out, he got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.

Both OU and MSU failed to score with the bases loaded and one in the second and sixth inning respectively. The Michigan State pitchers also picked off four Oakland runners.

Oakland reliever Kyle Korkate (0-1) suffered the loss in relief of Jeff Gorecki, who pitched well, striking out three and allowing just one run.  Jeff Kinley (2-2) earned the win in relief for MSU, while Wieber (5) picked up the save.

WOMEN’S GOLF: OU lands 17th

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Liz Ecker shot an opening round of 75 (+3) to finish day one in a tie for 15th place to lead the Oakland women’s golf team at the UC Spring Invitational on Friday at Plantation Inn Golf Course (Par 72, 6,161 yards). The Golden Grizzlies are in 17th place after shooting 320 (+32).

“There are three areas that are holding this team back,” said OU coach Russ Cunningham . “We gave away over 30 strokes with bogies on par fives, double-bogeys and three-putts. Once we cut that number in half, we will be able to score more in line with our talent level.”

Alanaa Gerber finished the first day with a score of 78 and stands in a tie for 40th place. Florida International leads after shooting 290 (+2) in the first round and is nine shots in front of Stetson. FIU’s Shelby Cove carded a 3-under-par 69 and holds a 1-shot lead over North Dakota State’s Amy Anderson (70).

SOFTBALL: Oakland splits with UD-Mercy

DETROIT — Leah DiCristofaro tied a school record with three home runs in one day and drove in six runs while Abbie Richardson threw a complete-game shutout and drove in two runs as the Oakland softball team split a pair of games at Detroit, losing the first game, 10-7, and winning the second game, 9-0, in five innings, at Buysee Ballpark Wednesday afternoon.

DiCristofaro blasted two home runs in the first game and one in the second game, tying Erika Burns who hit three home runs in a doubleheader against UMKC on April 14, 2001 at UMKC.

In the first game, Oakland jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning as DiCristofaro hit a two-run home run and Shannon Cleveland scored on a fielding error.  With the score 4-0, Detroit scored two runs on a Alyssa Schaub double in the bottom of the second inning but Oakland answered in the top of the third with a solo home run by DiCristofaro.

Oakland pushed the score to 7-4 in the fourth inning as Erika Polidori scored on a fielding error by the third baseman and Cleveland drew a bases loaded walk. Detroit would counter with a six-run fifth inning led by a three-run home run by Vanessa Garcia for the final score of 10-7.

Bailee Braunreuther (0-7) suffered the loss throwing 3.0 innings in relief giving up six runs, five earned.  The Titans’ Karyn McCarty earned the win throwing 5.0 innings in relief, giving up three runs, two earned, and striking out one batter.

In the night cap, Richardson (2-0) threw 5.0 innings, giving up no runs, surrendering three hits and striking out a batter to earn the victory.

Oakland jumped out to an early lead as Dicristofaro hit an RBI double down the right field line and Richardson hit a single to drive in a run in the first inning.  In the third inning, DiCristofaro blasted a two-run home run for her third of the day and Jackie Kisman had an RBI single.  OU would push two more runs across in the inning on an error by the second baseman to make the score 8-0.

The Golden Grizzlies scored one run in the fourth inning as Richardson drove in her second run of the game, grounding out to second to score Chelsea Carena for the final score of 9-0.

Oakland will open up its home schedule this weekend as they host North Dakota State for a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. at the OU Softball Field.

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