March 29, 2009
Box Score
Northridge, Calif. - Playing the third and final game of their Big West Conference opening series, the Pacific softball team could not avoid the sweep at the hands of Cal State Northridge, falling 3-2, on Sunday, March 29. The loss dropped the Tigers to 15-18 overall and 0-3 in conference play while the Matadors improved to 23-9 on the season and 3-0 in the Big West.
For the third straight game, the Tigers could not get out of their own way in the field, committing three errors in the contest that resulted in two of three runs being of the unearned variety. Cal State Northridge benefited from a pair of errors in the bottom of the sixth inning to come away with a pair of runs that would prove to be the difference in the contest. For the weekend, Pacific gave up 10 runs, nine of which were unearned on nine errors.
Just as they had done the day before in game two, the Tigers jumped out front of the Matadors early, posting a single run in the top of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. In the inning the Tigers strung together four hits to do their damage, culminating in an RBI single through the left side of the infield off the bat of senior Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.). However, the Tigers would leave the bases loaded in the inning, an error that would come back to haunt Pacific.
The lead would not last for long as the Matadors responded in the bottom half of the inning, pushing across their first earned run of the weekend to knot the game at one run a piece. A single to start the inning by Chrisina Saenz turned into the lone run of the inning for Cal State Northridge as she would make her way around the bases with the help of a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt. She would come in to score on a ground ball to second that posted the second out of the inning for the Tigers.
The game would remain tied through the next four innings of play until the Matadors broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning with a pair of runs to push their lead to 3-1. For the second time in as many games, the Tigers would make the final result interesting in their final at bat, scoring a single run in the seventh before finally falling to the Matadors. In the seventh, sophomore Nicole Matson (Castaic, Calif.) drilled an RBI double to left-center, scoring sophomore Lindsey Pierce (Camarillo, Calif.) from first after the right fielder reached on a single up the middle. The double for Matson was her second hit of the game in her first game back in the starting lineup after sitting out due to injury. Pierce finished the contest 2-for-4 at the plate.
Pacific came through with 10 hits in the contest, but Deborah Duran held the Tigers to just the two runs as she picked up her second win of the weekend in her second complete game. In seven innings of work, Duran struck out two and walked two to improve to 16-5 on the year. Freshman Gabby McDaniel fell to 2-4 in the circle for the Tigers after relinquishing three runs, one earned, in 5.1 innings of work. The freshman added five strike outs and three walks while giving up just four hits in the loss.
The Tigers will look to get back on track on Tuesday, March 31, when they host Fresno State at 2:00 pm at Bill Simoni Field.
