Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 April 30, 2011
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Fullerton, Calif. - In a showdown of the Big West's top two teams, the Pacific softball team flexed its muscles in a pair of mercy rule victories over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, April 30. The Tigers took the first game 10-0 before winning 8-0 in the second contest. The pair of wins gave the Tigers sole possession of first place in the conference at 32-15 overall and 11-3 in the Big West while the Titans fell to 20-20 overall and 9-5 in conference action.
Asserting their dominance from the outset, Pacific made short work of the Titans on the road as the Tigers pounded out 24 combined hits and scored 18 combined runs in their two Saturday victories. Not to be outdone by their offensive teammates, the Tigers' pitching staff of sophomore Nikki Armagost and freshman Tori Shepard was just as dominant as the duo picked up a pair of shutouts while allowing just six combined hits.
Offensively, the Tigers jumped on the Titans in the very first inning of action and never looked back as they scored two runs in their first trip to the plate to take a lead they would not give back. Two runs would just be the first of seven scoring innings for the Tigers on the day as Pacific pushed across runs in four of five innings in game one while scoring in three frames in game two.
In the opening contest, Pacific scored in all four innings in which it put the leadoff batter on base sophomore Megan Hom kick starting two of the innings, the first with an infield single while reaching on an error in the fifth. The sophomore would score three times on the day and reach base all four times she came to the plate despite picking up just one hit in the early session.
Sophomore Amy Moore picked up the first RBI of the day on a single to center, plating Hom and the only run the Tigers would truly need to take the contest. Following Moore's lead, freshman Kelsey Rodriguez, the Tigers' and Big West's top hitter, singled through the left side of the infield to plate a second run. While Moore would be credited with the game-winning run, it was junior Nicole Matson who did the most damage in the game for the Tigers as the slugger tallied four RBI in the contest, picking up a pair on a double in the second and two more on her 10th home run of the season in the fourth.
The top of the lineup for the Tigers came through for Pacific throughout the first game as Pacific's top four hitters were credited with scoring nine of the 10 runs scored in the game while driving in six runs. In all, Pacific saw all but one of its starters record a hit in the game with Armagost, Matson and senior Lindsey Pierce recording multiple hits in the rout.
With the first game in the books, the Tigers were not finished with their offensive onslaught as they once again jumped on the Titans in the first and never looked back. For Pacific, scoring first has been a key to victory as the Tigers moved to 22-0 on the year when scoring first.
In the inning, it was once again Moore who picked up what would go down as the game-winning RBI as the Tigers' starting catcher picked up one of her two RBI in the contest with a ground ball to second with runners at the corners. She added her third RBI of the day four innings later when she worked a bases loaded walk during the Tigers' five run, game ending, fifth.
Prior to their big five run inning, the Tigers had scored a pair of runs in the top of the second as both freshman Megan Foglesong and Matson delivered RBI singles in the inning. However, a chance to blow the game wide open would fall by the wayside when Pacific left the bases loaded for the second straight inning. A third chance fell short in the fourth when the Tigers put runners at every base with no outs in the inning only to see the inning come up dry.
Even with the misses early in the game, the Tigers would not bend as they finally broke through and put an end to the day with their biggest inning of all in the top of the fifth. Five runs would cross the plate in the inning before the Titans had the final out. While it was the big hits that had done most of the damage throughout the day, it was a squeeze play that finally got the final rally rolling as Foglesong dropped down a perfectly placed bunt to bring home Pierce from third. The senior made a perfect hookslide at the plate to avoid the tag and give Pacific the first run. From there, the floodgates opened as Matson, Moore and Rodriguez each drove home runs with Rodriguez grabbing two RBI on a bases loaded single to right center.
With the offense rolling, the pitching staff stepped up to match the energy as Armagost threw a complete-game four hitter in the first contest for her 16th (16-9) victory of the season. The sophomore, while stellar, was outdone by her freshman teammate as Shepard (12-6) relinquished just two hits in five innings, needing just 53 pitches to dispatch the Titans. Each pitcher issued just one walk in their respective contests while Armagost grabbed a pair of strikeouts in her win. The sophomore retired nine straight batters at one point in her game while Shepard needed just five pitches to record the final three outs of the day while picking up two, three-up three-down innings.
The Tigers will look for the sweep of the Titans and a secure spot at the top of the Big West on Sunday, May 1 as the two teams meet for the third game of their season series. The game is scheduled for 12:00 pm at Anderson Family Field.
