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Matson Dents The Scoreboard And The Win Column For Pacific
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada (1-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Pacific (1-2) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| @ Stanford, CA | Smith Family Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pitching |
|---|
| Win: Nikki Armagost (1-1) - Pacific |
| Loss: Darby, Mallary (1-2) - Nevada |
| Save: Tori Shepard (1) - Pacific |
| Nevada Batting |
|---|
| 2B: Lastrapes, Lauren |
| 3B: none |
| HR: none |
| Pacific Batting |
|---|
| 2B: Amy Moore |
| 3B: none |
| HR: Nicole Matson |
Stanford, Calif. - Beginning their second weekend of play in 2012 and kick starting the Stanford Nike Invitational, the Pacific softball team got in the win column for the first time with a 4-1 victory over Nevada on Friday, Febraury 17. The win moved the Tigers to 1-1 on the year while the Wolf Pack fell to 1-5 overall.
Starting the game off with a literal bang, the Tigers jumped out front of the Wolf Pack in the first inning of action as Pacific threw up two runs in its first trip to the plate. After building off of a leadoff hit by junior Megan Hom to manufacture their first run of the game, Pacific got its biggest hit of the morning from senior Nicole Matson to put what would-be the eventual game-winning run on the scoreboard. For Matson, the shortstop took putting the run on the board in a literal sense as the senior crushed a 0-2 pitch to left field, denting the scoreboard at Smith Family Stadium and putting the Tigers up 2-0.
Two innings later, the top of the order came through with a third run as Hom, sophomore Megan Foglesong and junior Nikki Armagost posted back-to-baclk-to-back singles to load the bases in front of Matson. With runners at every base, Matson just missed a second trip around the bases as she lifted a deep fly to right that allowed Hom to score on the sacrifice.
Pacific added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when junior Amy Moore put a runner in scoring position to start the inning with a double to the left-center gap. On base to run for Moore, sophomore Gabby Goyette took advantage of her speed and a pair of ground balls to the left side to score the Tigers' fourth run of the game.
On the other side of the ball, Armagost proved to be too much for the Wolf Pack bats as the junior went five innings to pick up her first win of the season. In all, Armagost reliquished just three hits in her outing, finding herself in trouble only when self inflicted as she walked four and threw a pair of wild pitches. Armagost's effective wildness kept Nevada off the scoreboard for four of her five innings, as the Wolf Pack scored in the top of the fifth on a single through the rightside after a walk and a pair of pitches in the dirt put a runner at third with only one out in the inning.
Despite out hitting the Wolf Pack eight to four througout the morning, the Tigers victory was not secure until the final two innings of action when sophomore Tori Shepard slammed the door on any thoughts of a comeback by Nevada. After putting a pair of runners on via walk to begin the sixth, the Tigers went to Shepard to close out the game which she promptly did by retiring six of the seven batters she faced in two innings of work. For Shepard, the struck out two and gave up just one hit to record her first save of the year and second career save in the Orange and Black.
Offensively, the Tigers saw Hom and Armagost each record a pair of hits in three trips to the plate to lead the way while Matson finished the contest 1-for-1 with a walk, a sacrifice and two RBI. On the other side, Karley Hopkins picked up two of the Wolf Pack's hits from the leadoff position.
Pacific is back in action at 2:30 pm when the Tigers take on the host and No. 8 ranked Cardinal in the third game of the 2012 Stanford Nike Invitational.
