SOFTBALL SPLITS TWO GAMES IN FINAL DAY OF THE STANFORD INVITATIONAL
3/27/2011
Senior Megan Schaefer allowed just one run over seven innings against Coastal Carolina to notch her fourth win of the season
STANFORD, Calif. -- Senior Megan Schaefer threw seven solid innings and freshman Paige Martin went 3-for-3 to help lead Sacramento State to a 3-1 victory over Coastal Carolina in the fourth and final round of the Stanford Softball Invitational Sunday afternoon. The Hornets fell to Pacific, 8-1, during the team’s first game of the day.
With the split, Sacramento State concluded the three-day, four-game tournament with a 1-3 record. That included losses to San Diego State and 12th-ranked Stanford on Friday. The Hornets are now 8-14 overall this season while Pacific improved to 18-11 and Coastal Carolina dropped to 14-16.
In the team’s victory over the Chanticleers, Schaefer (4-4) allowed just four hits and one run while walking one and striking out four batters. The right-hander threw 101 pitches, and was able to work her way out of jams in the second, fourth and seventh innings. Sacramento State had eight hits and scored single runs in the first, second and sixth innings.
The Hornets scored the game’s first run on a perfectly executed sacrifice squeeze bunt by Emily McCormick which allowed Alyssa Nakken to score from third base. The Hornets tacked on another in the second inning when Nakken was walked with the bases loaded allowing Molly Smith to score.
After Coastal Carolina cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning with an RBI-double from Jazmin Daigle, the Hornets got an insurance run in the sixth inning when freshman Devin Caldwell’s two-out single scored Martin from second base.
The Chanticleers threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning, putting runners at the corners with two outs, but Schaefer got Nicole Saggiomo to ground out and end the game. Michelle Evans (4-6) got the loss for Coastal Carolina, allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned) over seven innings.
Martin (3-for-3 with a run) and Smith (2-for-3 with a run) accounted for five of the Hornets’ eight hits. Smith played in two of the Hornets’ four tournament games, and finished 4-for-5 with two runs, a home run and an RBI.
In the Hornets’ first game of the day, Pacific pounded out eight runs and 12 hits off Sacramento State freshman starter Taylor Stroud. The Tigers scored three times in the first inning, one more in the fifth and four in the sixth. Five different Pacific starters had at least one RBI, including Megan Hom who went 4-for-4 with three runs, a double, triple and an RBI.
Stroud tossed a three-hit shutout against Pacific on March 9, but the Tigers had little trouble against the right-hander today. Stroud (4-6) went the distance in the loss and has dropped three straight decisions after tossing a two-hit shutout against Utah State back on March 13.
The lone highlight for the Hornets came via solo home run by McCormick in the sixth inning. That cut Pacific’s lead to 4-1, but the Tigers put the game away with a four-run bottom of the sixth inning.
Sacramento State mustered just four hits off Pacific starter Nikki Armagost (8-7), who allowed one run while walking one and striking out four over seven innings.
The Hornets return to action for a home game on Wednesday, March 30, against UC Davis at 2 p.m. The game against the Aggies begins a season-long 14-game homestand that spans March 30-April 23. That includes each of Sacramento State’s first three Pacific Coast Softball Conference four-game series against San Diego (April 9-10), Saint Mary’s (April 16-17) and Loyola Marymount (April 22-23).
