April 8, 2006
Box Score
Santa Barbara, Calif. - The Pacific softball team split its Big West Conference opening doubleheader with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 8. The Tigers dropped game one, 4-3, before run-ruling the Gauchos, 8-0, in five innings in the second game. With the split the Tigers moved to 20-15 overall and 1-1 in Big West play while the Gauchos moved to 16-12 overall and 3-2 in conference action.
Despite jumping out to an early two run lead, the Tigers were unable to hold on for the win in the opening game of the doubleheader, dropping their sixth one run game of the season.
The Tigers got a single run in the first inning as junior Jennifer Curtier (Lancaster, Calif.) drove in junior Gina Carbonatto (Lake Stevens, Calif.) with one of her three doubles on the day. Pacific added a second run in the third as Carbonatto connected for a double that drove in freshman Casey Goldsand (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
Up two runs, the Tigers made one bad pitch in the bottom of the third inning, resulting in a three-run homerun for Kendra Singley, who connected on a 0-2 pitch from senior Kristen Allen (Citrus Heights, Calif.). Up one, the Gauchos added a run in the fifth inning, a single run that turned into the game-winning run.
Pacific attempted to rally from the two run deficit, starting with a solo shot from junior Lizzie Hagen (Anaheim, Calif.) in the sixth inning. The homerun was Hagen's third of the season. In the seventh, the Tigers put runners on first and second with only one out, but were unsuccessful in their attempt to tie the game.
In the circle, Allen went 6.0 innings, giving up four earned runs and nine hits. The loss dropped Allen's record to 2-4 on the season. Her counterpart, Jennifer Davis, picked up the complete game win, improving to 11-8 on the season.
In game two, the Tigers rebounded to posted the eight run run-ruling of the Gauchos to pick up their first Big West conference win. Pacific jumped on UC Santa Barbara early again, led by a three-run homerun of their own by freshman Briana Santos (Garden Grove, Calif.). In addition to driving in what would be all the runs the Tigers would need, Santos pitched a complete game shutout of the Gauchos to pick up her ninth win of the season.
After putting up three in the first, the Tigers tacked on four more in second, knocking Davis out of the game after she started the second game in a row. The inning was capped off by a three RBI double by Curtier. On the day, Curtier was 3-for-6 with four RBI.
The Tigers finished the game off in the fifth inning, posting a single run as the Gauchos walked sophomore Alyce Jorgensen (Los Altos, Calif.) with the bases loaded, giving the Tigers the eighth and final run they would need to end the game in five innings.
The Gauchos threatened in the bottom half of the fifth inning, putting a runner at second with no outs in the inning. Despite the threat, Santos bared down, striking out the next three hitters she faced to ice the game.
Pacific and UC Santa Barbara will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow, Sunday, April 9. The Tigers will look for the series win at 12:00 pm at the Campus Diamond.
