SOFTBALL FALLS TWICE TO BOSTON AT THE SAN JOSE STATE ROUND ROBIN
3/1/2009
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Boston’s Nos. 1-3 hitters Shayne Lotito, April Setterlund and Melissa Dubay combined for 11 hits, four runs and five RBIs to lead the Terriers to a sweep of Sacramento State in a non-conference softball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at SJSU Field.
Boston won the first game, 5-3, before taking the nightcap, 2-0. The games were part of a two-day, four-game round robin hosted by San Jose State.
The Hornets had no answer for the top of Boston’s lineup as leadoff hitter Lotito combined for four hits, two stolen bases and three RBIs, Setterlund had four hits, two stolen bases and three runs scored, and Dubay combined for three hits and two RBIs in today’s doubleheader. Those same three hitters combined for seven hits, six runs and four RBIs in yesterday’s 7-4, nine-inning victory over the Hornets.
With the win, Boston was victorious in all three games it played against Sacramento State this weekend, and improved its record to 5-1. The Hornets, who opened the round robin by defeating San Jose State, concluded the tournament with a 1-3 record and now sit at 3-9 overall this season. Sacramento State, which is the defending Pacific Coast Softball Conference champions and has won at least 30 games five times in the last six years, has gotten off to a rough start this season. In fact, the team’s 3-9 record is the worst mark after 12 games since the program joined the Div. I ranks in 1990.
Sacramento State’s offense combined for just 10 hits in 52 at-bats (.192) during the doubleheader and the team was able to push just three runs across the plate. Only two of those 10 hits went for extra bases and the team combined for 12 total bases during both games.
In this morning’s opener, Boston jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on as Sacramento State mounted a late comeback. With the Hornets trailing, 4-0, in the top of the sixth, freshman Desiree Beltran’s two-run double cut the Boston lead in half. The Terriers scored once more in the bottom of the sixth when Dubay singled home Setterlund to take a three-run lead (5-2) into the seventh inning.
An RBI-single from Izmena Cabrera got the Hornets within, 5-3, in the seventh and the team would get the tying runners on base with two outs before Boston starter Kelley Engman retired Whitney Loomis to end the game.
Engman (1-0) picked up the win, allowing three runs (one earned) and seven hits over seven innings. For Sacramento State, sophomore Megan Schaefer (2-3) got the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) and 11 hits over six innings. Five different Hornets had hits in the game, including right fielder Jacquelyn Serrano who finished 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Sacramento State senior catcher Jamie Schloredt, last season’s PCSC Player of the Year, left the game in the fifth inning with an injury and did not return to play in the second game.
In the second game, the Terriers’ Cassidi Hardy tossed a three-hit shutout as she walked just one batter while striking out three. Sacramento State put runners at second and third with two outs in both the third and sixth innings, but could not score against Hardy.
Boston scored the game’s first run in the third inning with Lotito single home Rachel Moeller and added one more in the fifth when Lotito struck again with an RBI-single scoring Moeller. Those were the only runs scored as Sacramento State’s offense accounted for just three hits.
Hornet freshman Shelby Voelz (0-2) was impressive in the circle, but got the hard-luck loss despite allowing just six hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out four.
Sacramento State will finally play its home opener next week when the team welcomes Causeway rival UC Davis for a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 4, at 1 p.m. The Hornets are scheduled to play seven games next week as the team will also compete in the three-day, five-game Mustang Classic in San Luis Obispo, Calif., from March 6-8.
