Northridge, Calif. - On the third and final day of the Cal State Northridge Tournament, the Pacific Softball team was defeated by Bakersfield and the host Matadors. Pacific lost the first game, to Bakersfield, 3-2 in nine innings and dropped the second contest, 7-5 to Cal State Northridge. Pacific falls to 11-18 with the pair of losses. Bakersfield improved to 9-23 with the victory while Northridge sits at 20-10 after the win.

In the first game, Pacific sent Tori Shepard (4-7) to the circle. After Bakersfield's Karissa Veiga led off the top of the first with a leadoff walk, Sydney Raeber bunted Veiga over to second with a sacrifice. Veiga broke for third and sophomore Nicole Zapotoczny, who was covering first on the sacrifice, threw errantly to third base, allowing Veiga to score for a 1-0 Roadrunner advantage. Shepard would limit the damage, getting a groundout and a pop up to end the frame.

Shepard and Bakersfield starter Amber Mills (1-3), would trade scoreless frames in the second, third and fourth innings. Shepard, who finished with three strikeouts, worked around baserunners in the second and fourth without allowing a run.

In the top of the fifth, Pacific responded with a run of its own. Freshman catcher Jessica Pasco, making her first career start, was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. Senior Megan Foglesong pinch ran for Pasco, stealing second and advancing to third on a  wild pitch. With two out, Bailey O'Mara singled through the right side of the infield, scoring Foglesong to tie the score at 1-1.

In the Bakersfield half of the fifth, Shepard worked around an infield single with two out, providing the Tigers a much needed shutdown inning, getting the offense back into the dugout.

Bakersfield would have a scoring chance in the sixth, as Madison Bundy singled to begin the inning and stole second. Pinch hitter Mackenzie Zinger singled up the middle to put two runners on board with two out, but Shepard induced a ground out from Ashley Carter to end the threat and keep the score tied.

In the seventh, Shepard again saw two runners reach on walks, but was able to strand the threat.

The game remained tied, going into extra innings. In the top of the 8th, per tournament protocol, sophomore Melanie Habib was placed on second base. A flyout from O'Mara advanced Habib to third base and with two out, Taylor Petty delivered a loud single just past the third baseman Madison Bundy and down the left field line, scoring Habib for a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the frame, Bakersfield placed Bundy on second and immediately advanced her to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Brianna Pontecorvo. Amy Ricciardi singled to left center field to tie the score at 2-2, prolonging the contest into the ninth inning.

Junior Alex Steinmehl was placed on second to begin the frame, and was promptly lifted for pinch runner freshman Melina Huey. After freshman Cassidy Gustafson bunted Huey into scoring position via the sacrifice, sophomore Sara Anderson flew out to left field. Veiga delivered a perfect throw home to tag out Huey, who was attempting to score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly, ending the inning and sending Bakersfield to the bottom half with a chance to win.

Kayli Shaw was placed on second for the Roadrunners and Veiga bunted her over to third base. The next batter, Sydney Raeber, delivered a sacrifice fly to left field, and the speed of Shaw was too much, as the Roadrunners walked off with a 3-2 nine inning victory.

In the second game of the day, The Tigers sent Gustafson (0-4) to the circle against Cal State Northridge's Daphne Pofek (4-3). The Tigers, despite playing at Matador Diamond, were the designated home team for the contest.

The Tigers struck first, loading the bases with a pair of walks by sophomore Melanie Habib and senior Taylor Petty and a single to left field by freshman Bailey O'Mara. Junior Alex Steinmehl grounded out to second base, scoring Habib from third for a 1-0 Orange and Black advantage.

In the top of the second, Cal State Northridge added four runs off of Gustafson, fueled in part by a pair of errors a double by Taylor Glover that scored a pair, giving Northridge the 4-1 advantage.

The Madators would extend the lead to 5-1 in the third inning, scoring an unearned run,  but the Tigers responded to cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the frame after Steinmehl was hit by a pitch and Cassidy Gustafson delivered a towering home run to left field.

In the Northridge fourth, Glover again aided the Matador attack with a two-run home run to straight away center field, extending the lead to 7-3 for CSUN.

In the Pacific fifth, Steinmehl led off with a five-pitch walk and sophomore Nicole Zapotoczny doubled into the left center field gap, scoring Steinmehl. Zapotoczny advanced to third on an illegal pitch, and came into score after another illegal pitch was ruled on the fourth ball of Sara Anderson's walk, cutting the CSUN lead to 7-5.

The Tigers went down quietly in the sixth and seventh, as 7-5 would hold as the final scoreline.

Gustafson provided a pair of RBI for the Tigers while Taylor Brink had a pair of singles.

From the mound, Gustafson threw her second complete game in as many days, striking out two while allowing four earned runs.

The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday, March 26 at San Jose State. The contest will start at 1:00 pm.

Stay tuned to @PacificSoftball on Twitter and Instagram for updates.