SOFTBALL DROPS GAMES TO WESTERN KENTUCKY AND NOTRE DAME
2/21/2009
STANFORD, Calif. -- Sacramento State had trouble offensively and in the circle as the Hornets dropped a pair of games in the third and fourth rounds of the Stanford Softball Invitational Saturday at Smith Family Stadium. The Hornets fell to Western Kentucky, 10-2, in the first game of the day, before losing later in the afternoon to Notre Dame, 11-0. Both Western Kentucky and Notre Dame used a seven-run inning to put the games away.
In the two games, Sacramento State’s offense combined to bat .182 (8-for-44), including .143 (2-for-14) with runners on base, and .000 (0-for-6) with runners in scoring position. The team’s pitching staff allowed 21 runs over 11.2 innings and opponents batted .500 against four different Sacramento State pitchers.
After opening the season with a convincing doubleheader sweep on the road at Pacific, the Hornets have struggled at the Stanford Invitational, posting an 0-4 record thus far at the three-day, five-game tournament. The team will conclude tourney play tomorrow against host and fifth-ranked Stanford at 1:30 p.m. The Hornets lost to both Notre Dame and Stanford yesterday.
Sacramento State fell to 2-4 overall this season, while Western Kentucky improved to 6-2 and Notre Dame moved its record to 3-5.
In the Hornets’ first game of the day, Western Kentucky held a 3-2 lead before unloading for seven hits and seven runs in a fifth inning that seemed to never end. Pinch hitter Ashley Contreras’ home run was the last run of the inning, and instituted the eight-run mercy rule that stopped the game after five innings.
The highlight of the contest for the Hornets was junior Jenice Bartee’s two-run homer in the third inning that pulled the team within, 3-2. Bartee was one of three Sacramento State players with hits in the game as freshmen Desiree Beltran and Alyssa Nakken each went 2-for-2.
Western Kentucky starter Ryan Rogge (4-1) allowed two runs and five hits over five innings to pick up the win while Terri Ellingsworth led all players with four RBIs. Four different WKU players hit home runs, including Ellingsworth. Hornet junior Brittani Clifford (1-2) picked up the loss, allowing three runs and seven hits over 4.0 innings. Nakken pitched the final two-thirds of an inning before Contreras’ home run ended things.
In the game against Notre Dame, the Irish scored two runs in the third inning, two more in the fifth and seven in the seventh off three Sacramento State pitchers. The Hornets had just three hits and advanced one runner past second base during the entire afternoon against Notre Dame starter Brittney Bargar.
For the second straight day, Bargar (3-1) was dominant as she limited the Hornets to one unearned run and five hits over seven innings yesterday. In two games against Sacramento State this year, Bargar is now 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA while limiting the Hornets to a .160 batting average.
Seven different Notre Dame players accounted for RBIs, including Heather Johnson who finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs. Izmena Cabrera, Megan Schaefer and Alicia Noriega each had hits for Sacramento State. Schaefer (1-1) got the loss for the Hornets, lasting the first 6.1 innings before Clifford and freshman Shelby Voelz each pitched a third of an inning.
STANFORD, Calif. -- Sacramento State had trouble offensively and in the circle as the Hornets dropped a pair of games in the third and fourth rounds of the Stanford Softball Invitational Saturday at Smith Family Stadium. The Hornets fell to Western Kentucky, 10-2, in the first game of the day, before losing later in the afternoon to Notre Dame, 11-0. Both Western Kentucky and Notre Dame used a seven-run inning to put the games away.
