March 20, 2009
Box Score
Stanford, Calif. - Relinquishing just three hits throughout the day, freshman Gabby McDaniel (Sacramento, Calif.) picked up her first collegiate victory in the circle for the Tigers, shutting out Santa Clara, 12-0, on Friday, March 20. The win improved the Tigers to 13-12 on the season and 1-0 at the Stanford Invitational. The Broncos fell to 4-19 overall.
Opening play in their fifth and final regular season tournament of the season, the Tigers got off to a flying start at both the plate and in the field. Designated the away team against Santa Clara, the Tigers put the pressure on their opponents in the top of the first inning, posting a pair of runs in their first at bats to take the early lead. With runners on first and second to start and only one out in the inning, freshman Amanda Collier (Sparks, Nev.) continued her stellar display at the plate from earlier in the week, smacking a double into the right-center gap, plating both of Pacific's early runs.
Spotted two runs before touching the pitching rubber, McDaniel wasted no time getting her team back to the plate, inducing a ground ball to second before striking out the next two Bronco batters she faced. Retired in order themselves in the top of the second, the Tigers went back into the field in the bottom of the inning, only to see McDaniel post another three-up, three-down inning beginning with two more strike outs to begin the inning.
With McDaniel cruising in the circle, Pacific looked to provide more support for their young pitcher, posting a single run in the top of the third to push its lead to 3-0. Again, Collier delivered the critical shot in the inning for the Tigers, lacing her second double of the game off of the center field wall to chase home freshman Paige Emerson (Rocklin, Calif.) for the second time in the game. Emerson reached first via a walk, one of three issued to the Tigers in the contest on top of three hit batsmen.
Up three runs, the Tigers put the game away in the top of the fourth inning, sending 12 batters to the plate to score seven runs. In the inning, Pacific put eight straight runners on base to begin the inning before Santa Clara recorded its first out. Beginning with senior Heidi Helberg (Brentwood, Calif.), Pacific posted three straight single to start the inning as Helberg was followed by senior Casey Goldsand (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and sophomore Lindsey Pierce (Camarillo, Calif.) to load the bases for the third time in the game.
With runners at every base, Emerson posted the first RBI of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center field. However, the Tigers caught their first break of the inning as the potential first out was dropped in center, allowing Emerson to reach base, keeping the bases loaded for Collier. The opportunity was not wasted on Collier as the freshman delivered her fourth RBI of the contest in easy fashion after working a 3-2 walk to push across the second run of the inning. A hit batter delivered the Tigers' their third run of the game before junior Kellee Wilson (Tracy, Calif.) drove home another Pacific run with a single through the left side.
The inning would continue for the Tigers as the eighth consecutive Tiger reached base in the form of freshman Alexa Rivera (Sacramento, Calif.) whose hot shot to short was bobbled, again, keeping the bases loaded. On top of allowing Rivera to reach first safely, the Tigers scored their fifth run of the inning. With five runs across, the Tigers finally hit into their first out of the inning, however, the ground ball off the bat of senior Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.) proved productive as the sixth Tiger run came in to score in the inning. Pacific would add its seventh and final run of the inning on a sigle through the left side by Goldsand, who recorded her second hit of the inning to post the run.
In the top of the fifth, Pacific would added two more runs to its total to secure the early, five inning, victory over the Broncos. In the inning, Collier would tag her third double of the afternoon.
Overall, Pacific's offense knocked out 13 hits in five innings, led by Collier who finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored. Emerson also finished the afternoon perfect at the plate, posting two hits in two official at bats while posting a team-high four runs scored in the game. Not to be outdone, Goldsand, at the top of the order for the Tigers went 3-for-3, extending her hit streak to 14 games.
For McDaniel, the freshman hurler picked up her first win of the year with a nearly flawless outing that saw her give up just three hits and no walks in five innings pitched. Against 19 Bronco batters, McDaniel struck out eight, posting two strike outs in every inning except the third.
The Tigers will continue play at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, March 21, at 9:00 am as they take on the Tigers of Princeton in their first of two games during the day. Pacific will face Winthrop immediately following its morning contest.
