April 6, 2007

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - With Big West Conference play beginning for the Tigers, the Pacific softball team got off to a quick start with two wins over UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), 3-2 (8) and 5-4 (8), on Friday, April 6. The wins moved the Tigers to 27-13 overall and 2-0 in conference action while the Gauchos fell to 20-13 on the year and 0-5 in the Big West.

Three days after taking down No. 24/25 Fresno State at Bill Simoni Field the Tigers faced the tough test of conference play as they opened the season against the Gauchos at home. Unlike last season, the Tigers did not let UCSB steal game one of the series before getting going as Pacific put away the season series by taking the opening doubleheader.

In the first game of the day the Tigers took advantage of the Gauchos' outfield and pitching misfortunes to plate all three of their runs to capture the 3-2 victory. Pacific got on the scoreboard first, a crucial piece for the Tigers as they entered the day 15-2 when scoring first, as they plated a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Senior Jennifer Curtier (Lancaster, Calif.) led the inning off with a double to center field, her 13th double of the season. Curtier just missed hitting her seventh home run of the season, lifting a fly ball to deep center field that UCSB's Tiffany Wright lost in the sun, resulting in the double for Curtier. With a runner on second, sophomore Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.) gave herself up with a sacrifice bunt to move Curtier to third. Junior Alyce Jorgensen (Los Altos, Calif.) then hit a fly ball into right field that was deep enough to score Curtier for the first run of the game.

Two innings later, the Gauchos would even up the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning. After a leadoff single, Wright helped make up for her mistake with a sacrifice bunt that put a runner into scoring position for UCSB. Brittany Putich then drove home the run with a single through the right side.

Pacific would recapture the lead in the bottom half of the inning, once again taking advantage of a miscue in the Gauchos' outfield. After Weyman reached base on a fielder's choice, Jorgensen drove a ball to deep left field that appeared as if it would be caught at the wall. However, UCSB's left fielder misplayed the ball off of her glove, allowing Weyman to score all the way from first to put the Tigers up 2-1.

The Tigers' lead would again be short lived as the Gauchos were able to plate a single unearned run in the top of the seventh inning and hold the Tigers in the bottom half of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.

Sophomore Chelsea Engle (Folsom, Calif.) the game's starter for Pacific was able to shutdown the Gauchos in the extra frame, allowing her team a chance to put the game away in the bottom of the eighth. The Tigers did just that as they loaded the bases with two outs for sophomore Casey Goldsand (Scottsdale, Ariz.). After Weyman and Jorgensen walked with one out in the inning, freshman Karie Wilson (Glendale, Ariz.) put runners at every base with a single to center field. After Jennifer Davis, who had come into the game in relief for the Gauchos, retired the second out of the inning, Goldsand stepped to the plate and earned the easiest RBI of the game for the Tigers as she walked on a 3-2 count to push in the game-winning run.

Engle picked up her 14th win of the season and seventh in 11 appearances as she threw a complete eight innings for the Tigers. Other than the runs, Engle only got into trouble in the first inning as she loaded the bases with only one out. However, she was able to get out of the inning unscathed as the Gauchos' runner on third base left earlier on a fly ball to right field resulting in an unconventional 9-2-5 double play. In all, Engle gave up just six hits and two runs, one earned, while striking out four and walking four.

Davis picked up the loss for the Gauchos as she went 1.2 innings in relief, relinquishing one run on two hits while walking three.

UCSB's wildness continued into game two as Pacific posted three runs in the bottom of the first inning while only tallying one hit. The Tigers sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning with six of the nine hitters walking to first. The lone hit of the inning was an RBI single off Weyman's bat after she watched the first three Tigers hitters walk to start the inning. Pacific would push two more runs in via the walk. Despite the lack of control for the Gauchos' the Tigers stranded the bases loaded to end the inning.

Pacific would again strand the bases loaded in the second inning after seeing another two hitters walk to first.

The runners left on base would come back to bite the Tigers as the Gauchos were able to plate three runs in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 3-3. UCSB benefited from mental mistakes in the field by the Tigers and four consecutive two out hits to score the three runs.

The tie would eventually be broken by the Tigers in the bottom of the fifth inning with a single run as sophomore Briana Santos (Garden Grove, Calif.) saw her first action of the day as a pinch hitter and promptly lined an RBI double down the left field line. The double plated Jorgensen who had been walked to begin the inning. The walk was the 10th of the game for the Tigers.

However, just as they had done in the first game of the day, the Gauchos rallied in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4 and send the contest into extra innings. After just missing throwing out the tying run at the plate, the Tigers saw junior Vianney Campos (Guadalajara, Mexico) make what may have been the game saving play as she threw out the Gauchos' go-ahead run at the plate to end UCSB's rally.

After being held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh and holding the Gauchos' in the eighth, the Tigers struck in the extra frame to put the Gauchos away and send them to their fifth straight conference loss of the season. After struggling for much of the day, senior Gina Carbonatto (Lake Stevens, Wash.) slapped her first hit of the day into left field to start the inning off for the Tigers and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Lizzie Hagen (Anaheim, Calif.). With a base open and only one out. the Gauchos and Davis, who again was in the game in relief for UCSB, chose to pitch to Curtier. The decision backfired as Curtier drilled a double off the left field wall, plating Carbonatto to give the Tigers the 5-4 win in eight innings.

Davis picked up her second loss of the day for UCSB and fell to 4-10 on the year. Jorgensen started the game for the Tigers and was lifted with the game tied at 4-4 in the seventh inning. In 6.2 innings, Jorgensen gave up seven hits and two runs while striking out two and walking two. In relief, sophomore Heidi Helberg (Brentwood, Calif.) picked up her third win of the season as she threw 1.1 innings of shutout softball, relinquishing just two hits.

The Tigers and Gauchos will face off in the third and final game of the season series on Saturday, April 7, at Bill Simoni Field. The single game is scheduled for 12:00 pm.