Feb. 16, 2007
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Stanford, Calif. - The Pacific softball team continued their strong start moving to 7-0 for the 2007 season with two more wins to start the Stanford Invitational on Friday, February 16. The Tigers posted a 3-0 shutout of Santa Clara to begin the day and followed that up with a 9-3 win over Missouri in their second game.
In the first game of the day, sophomore Chelsea Engle (Folsom, Calif.) pitched Pacific to the shutout win as she went a complete seven innings for the Tigers while giving up just two hits on the day. Additionally, Engle tallied five strike outs in the outing to pick up her third win of the season. In the circle, Engle got into trouble once as the Broncos were able to load the bases with two outs in the third inning due to a Tiger error. Even with the jam, Engle was able to induce a lazy fly ball to center field to end the threat.
Offensively, the Tigers got off to a quick start as they posted two runs in the bottom of the opening inning. As she have done throughout the beginning of the season and her career, senior Gina Carbonatto (Lake Stevens, Wash.) got the Tigers off and running and on the board first. Carbonatto started things off by drawing a walk and then advanced to second on a well placed sacrifice bunt by fellow senior, Lizzie Hagen (Anaheim, Calif.). She would come around to score as she took advantage of her speed and an errant throw by the Broncos' pitcher, Lauren Passafiume. Pacific's second run came off the bat of sophomore Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.) who laced a double to left center that scored senior Jennifer Curtier (Lancaster, Calif.) who had reached on a fielder's choice.
The Tigers added another single run in the third inning to round out the scoring as Pacific again took advantage of timely hitting and an error in the field by Santa Clara.
Unlike the first game of the day, Pacific's bats awakened in the second game of the Friday session as the Tigers were able to pound out 11 hits and plate nine runs in the game. The nine runs marked the fifth time in seven games Pacific has scored at least nine runs in a contest this season.
Playing as the designated home team, the Tigers watched Missouri capture the lead first with a single run in the opening inning. Down one run and heading into its first at bat of the game, Pacific tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning as Carbonatto led the game off with a single followed by a sacrifice bunt by Hagen. Unlike before, Curtier left no doubt as to whether Carbonatto would score as she swatted a double into left center field to plate the run.
With the RBI, Curtier became the program's all-time leader in RBI as she has posted 136 RBI in her four year career. Curtier is already the Tigers' all-time leader in home runs, as well, as she has hit 36 round-trippers.
Tied at one, Pacific broke the game open in the second inning as the Tigers were able to push across four more runs to take a 5-1 lead. A hit batter and an error by the Missouri defense allowed the Tigers to get the inning going before Carbonatto and Hagen produced back-to-back doubles to cap the inning with three runs.
Missouri would inch a little closer in the top of the third inning on a solo home run by Amanda Renth. However, the Tigers responded back in the a few innings later as Hagen and Curtier got things popping in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of hits to start the inning. Curtier's hit was her second double of the game, giving her a team-leading seven doubles this season and 45 for her career (14 back of the all-time leader in Tiger history, Barbara Moody (2000-03)). After a walk loaded the bases, Weyman hit a sacrifice fly into right field to score Hagen. After the bases were loaded for the second time in the inning, freshman Kellee Wilson (Tracy, Calif.) worked a walk to plate the Tigers final run of the inning.
In the sixth, Missouri was again able to post a single run on the scoreboard, but as before, the Tigers responded back with two of their own. Sophomore Briana Santos (Garden Grove, Calif.) proved the offense in the inning for the Tigers as she homered to left-center field for her first home run of the season.
In the circle, junior Alyce Jorgensen (Los Altos, Calif.) picked up her third win of the season as she followed Engle with her own complete seven inning game. In all, Jorgensen gave up three runs, two of them earned, while relinquishing seven hits and striking out four. Two of Jorgensen's strike outs came when Missouri had the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
The Tigers will continue play at the Stanford Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, February 17. Pacific will take on No. 12 Stanford at 12:00 pm before bracket play begins.
