Sophomore Erin Coyne |
STOCKTON, Calif. – Sacramento State combined to leave 22 runners on base in two games as 21st-ranked Pacific took advantage and swept the Hornets in a non-conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Bill Simoni Field. The Tigers won game one, 3-2, in eight innings while taking the second game, 5-2, in a game that was called because of darkness in the sixth inning.The Hornets combined for 14 hits, five walks, five hit-by-pitches and a .358 on-base percentage in both games, but could muster just four runs. With the victories, Pacific improved to 3-1 on the season while Sacramento State fell to 0-2. The Hornets have now dropped their season opener five of the last six years.
In the first game, Nicole Inouye''s one-out, bases-loaded walk that scored Estee Okumura in the eighth inning gave Pacific the victory. The Tigers, who erased a one-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to push the game into extra innings, scored three runs in the final five innings of the contest. The decisive run was set up by a Kristen Allen double and an Ashlie D''Errico single earlier in the inning.
A two-out, RBI-double by sophomore Erin Coyne staked the Hornets to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Pacific responded with a run in the fourth on a solo home run by Crystal Presson. The Hornets retook the lead in the sixth on an RBI-double by sophomore Lesley Mayhorn. Sacramento State had a chance to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh, but Pacific center fielder Okumura gunned down pinch runner Whitnie Darvell trying to score on a fly ball off the bat of junior Nicole Deatherage.
Pacific tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a Barbara Moody RBI-singe. Both teams combined to leave 21 runners on base with Sacramento State stranding 10. The Hornets left at least one runner on base in every inning but the eighth.
Jennifer Dacre (1-1) picked up the win for Pacific, allowing two runs on nine hits in eight innings of work. Deatherage (0-1) got the loss, allowing three runs and eight hits in 7.1 innings. Sacramento State had three players finish with multiple-hit games including senior Jillian Bivert (2-for-4), Coyne (2-for-4, two doubles and an RBI) and Deatherage (2-for-4). Brittany Hyams, Moody and Allen each finished with two hits for Pacific.
In the second game, Pacific led from start to finish as a two-run double by Allen and a Presson RBI-single in the first inning put the Tigers on top, 3-0. Sacramento State responded with two runs in the top of the second on a two-out, two-run single by freshman Lindy Winkler.
The Tigers, however, added single runs in the second and fourth innings on solo home runs by Michelle Anunciation and D''Errico, respectively. The Hornets left 12 runners on base despite the game lasting just six innings as the team left the bases loaded in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Pacific''s Cathie Hacker (1-0) picked up the win despite hitting five batters and allowing four hits and two walks in five innings of work. Natalie King recorded her first save of the season after throwing a scoreless sixth inning.
Deatherage was hit by a pitch in all three of her plate appearances while junior Amanda Moreland and Coyne were also struck by a pitch. Winkler was the only Hornet to finish with more than one hit as the freshman went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Sophomore Brianne Ferguson (0-1) got the loss for the Hornets, allowing five runs and seven hits in four innings. Senior Gina Steenburgen threw a scoreless inning of relief in the fifth inning.
Sacramento State returns to action this weekend as the team takes part in the three-day, five-game Cal Poly Mustang Roundup in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Hornets will face San Diego and UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Feb. 7, before taking on Colorado State and host Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 8. Sacramento State wraps up the round-robin tournament on Sunday, Feb. 9, against Nevada.
