April 10, 2009
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - With a 1-0 win in game one of their double header with UC Riverside, the Pacific softball team picked up its first conference win of the season. With the win, Pacific split the day's games with the Highlanders as UC Riverside took game two, 2-1, on Saturday, April 10. The split moved the Tigers to 16-23 on the year and 1-7 in the conference while the Highlanders moved to 14-23 overall and 3-5 in the Big West.
In a pitcher's duel between senior Chelsea Engle (Folsom, Calif.) and Stephanie Marshall (5-10), the Tigers won out, outlasting the Highlanders through seven innings until delivering the decisive blow in the bottom of the seventh inning to pick up the opening game victory. For seven innings, Engle held the Highlanders in check, scattering just three hits in the game while striking out seven and walking just two to pick up the win. For Engle (7-9), the victory was her first in five starts and snapped a nine game losing skid for the Tigers.
With Engle cutting through the Highlanders' lineup the Tigers had their chances throughout the day to put the game away early, putting runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and sixth innings only to come up empty. However, Pacific's luck would change in the seventh as the Tigers turned a leadoff single by senior Briana Santos (Garden Grove, Calif.) into the game's winning run.
With Santos safely aboard after picking up her first hit of the contest, the Tigers put senior Heidi Helberg (Brentwood, Calif.) into run and promptly moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt. Not wasting anytime to end the contest, junior Kellee Wilson (Tracy, Calif.), Pacific's hottest hitter, roped a double off the left field wall pushing home Helberg for the game-winning RBI. For the game Wilson went 2-for-3, a feat she would outdo in game two of the afternoon.
After capturing the opening contest in dramatic fashion, the Tigers were unable to keep the momentum in the second game of the day as the Highlanders grabbed hold of game two with one swing of the bat in the third inning. After a leadoff single put one runner aboard for UC Riverside, Taylor Thomas put her team on the scoreboard for the first time in the day with a two-run home run to left field off of freshman Gabby McDaniel (Sacramento, Calif.). The home run was the first of the season for the Highlanders' sophomore second baseman and gave UC Riverside all the runs they would need to secure the victory.
Throughout the contest, the Tigers again had chances to put runs on the board against UC Riverside, putting at least one runner on base in all seven innings of play and in scoring position in four of the seven innings. However, the Tigers would strand 10 throughout the contest plating just a single run in the fifth inning in a rally that was cut short as the final out of the inning was cut down at the plate.
With two outs in the inning, the Tigers started a potential come back after freshman Amanda Collier (Sparks, Nev.) was hit by a pitch to put the first runner on base in the inning. After Collier was hit, Santos delivered a double to right-center that allowed Collier to score all the way from first, plating Pacific's first run of the game. With a runner at second, Wilson again delivered for the Tigers, singling to left field on a 1-1 pitch. However, Pacific was too aggressive on the play, trying to score Helberg, who came in to run for Santos, from second, as Brittany Keeney fired a strike home from left field, nailing Helberg at the plate as she attempted to score the tying run.
The run lost at the plate would prove costly as the Tigers would not advance another runner into scoring position over the final two innings of play, falling 2-1 to the Highlanders.
In the circle, McDaniel would fall to 2-8 on the year as she gave up nine hits and two runs over seven innings of work. Additionally, the freshman would add one walk and four strike outs to her season totals. Marissa Alvidrez picked up the win to move to 5-10 on the year as she gave up just one run on eight hits and five walks in seven innings.
Offensively, Wilson led the way with a perfect 3-for-3 showing at the plate in game two and a 5-for-6 showing over the two game span. Santos added two hits in four at bats as the duo posted five of Pacific's eight hits in the game.
The Tigers and the Highlanders will play the rubber game of their three game series on Saturday, April 11, at Bill Simoni Field. Both teams will look for their first series win of the 2009 season beginning at 12:00 pm.
