April 5, 2009
Box Score
Davis, Calif. - Leading 4-3 heading into the seventh, the Pacific softball team suffered a heart breaking loss at the hands of UC Davis, 5-4, on Sunday, April 5. The loss dropped the Tigers to 15-22 overall and 0-6 in conference play while the Aggies improved to 19-16 on the year and 4-2 in the Big West.
Up one run and needing three outs to secure their first conference win of the season, the Tigers saw there hopes dashed by the Aggies as UC Davis rallied for a pair of runs to steal the win. Setting up the rally, the Aggies put the tying run and the winning run on base to start the inning when Belinda Paine singled up the middle and was followed by Julie Stauder working a walk. With two runners on, the Aggies pushed across the first run of the inning on a pair of sacrifices, scoring Paine and pushing Stauder to third. With two outs in the inning, Kelly Harman blooped a pop up down the first base line that appeared to be heading foul. On the run, the Tigers made a play on the shot in foul territory, only to see their effort backfire as the dropped pop up in foul ground was ruled fair, allowing the winning run to come home to score.
Prior to the seventh, the Tigers were in prime position to pick up the Sunday victory over the Aggies, knocking in four runs through out the afternoon, led by junior Kellee Wilson (Tracy, Calif.) who came through with three RBI on two hits. After leaving the bases loaded in the first on a ground ball to short, Wilson did not make the same mistake two innings later as she ripped a two-RBI double with the bases loaded into center field, knotting the game at 3-3.
Tied at three, Wilson again came through for the Tigers in the fifth, again doubling, this time to left-center field, plating senior Briana Santos (Garden Grove, Calif.) from first. Santos got things started for the Tigers in the inning with her second single of the afternoon. Santos also singled in the third and came around to score in the inning. For the game the senior went 2-for-3.
Pacific got off to a quick start in the contest for the second consecutive game, getting to Jessica Hancock, UC Davis' starter, for the first time in the series in the first inning, scoring a single run in the inning in an unconventional fashion. After senior Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.) doubled to left-center with one out in the inning and moved to third on a ground out to the right side, the Tigers capitalized on a third strike wild pitch to score their only run of the inning.
However, the Tigers would return the gift in the bottom half of the inning, allowing Paine to reach on a third strike wild pitch to start the inning. She would come around to score on a single later in the inning. In the second, the Aggies chased senior Heidi Helberg (Brentwood, Calif.), Pacific's starter, out of the contest with three hits and a pair of runs to start the inning.
In relief, freshman Gabby McDaniel (Sacramento, Calif.) shut down the early Aggie rally and held UC Davis in check until the final inning of play. For the game, McDaniel gave up seven hits and two runs in 5.2 innings of work to fall to 2-7 on the year. In relief of Hancock, Alex Holmes picked up her second win of the weekend with four innings of work in which she gave up three hits and one run.
Pacific will look to snap their recent skid on Tuesday, April 7, when the Tigers travel to San Jose State to take on the Spartans in their final non-conference contest of the season. The game is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
