Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific softball team split its two games at the 2015 Stanford Nike Invitational on Saturday, topping Cal Poly 6-3 to begin the day and falling to Stanford 9-5 in the nightcap. The Tigers record sits at 3-7 at the end of the day, while Cal Poly falls to 4-5 and Stanford improves to 7-3.

Game One

In a rematch of the pitching matchup from Friday's tournament opener, Pacific sent senior Dani Bonnet (2-3) to the circle to face off against Lindsay Chalmers (1-2) of Cal Poly. In this contest, the Pacific bats were able to get to Chalmers early while Bonnet pitched effectively in a complete game victory, recording six strikeouts.

Bonnet set the tone for the contest with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first. Despite a pair of base runners in the bottom of the inning, Pacific got nothing across in the bottom of the frame but Bonnet then set down Cal Poly in order with three strikeouts in the top of the second.

In the bottom of the second, the Tigers got to work offensively. Chalmers issued a walk to senior Alex Steinmehl and with one out, sophomore Cassidy Gustafson doubled to center field, plating Steinmehl and giving Pacific the early 1-0 advantage. After sophomore Toni Santos reached on a bunt single, junior Sara Anderson singled to left, scoring Gustafson to make it 2-0 in favor of Pacific. A perfectly executed double steal put two runners in scoring position and with one down freshman Molly Bourne scored two on an infield single to second base extending the Tigers advantage to 4-0. Junior Nicole Zapotoczny then tripled to right center, scoring Bourne and giving Pacific a five-run cushion.  In the fourth, the Tigers used small ball to manufacture an insurance run. Santos reached on a bunt single and stole second. Anderson advanced Santos to third base before junior Melanie Habib brought Santos home on a squeeze play, picking up an RBI on the sacrifice.

In the fifth, the Mustangs rallied for three runs off of Bonnet, cutting the lead to 6-3 in favor of the Tigers, but Bonnet remained undaunted, delivering perfect innings in both the sixth and seventh innings to give the Orange and Black the victory.

Game Two

In the second game, under the lights at Smith Family Stadium, Pacific sent freshman Marissa Young (1-2) to the circle to face the Stanford lineup. The Cardinal countered with freshman Haley Snyder (5-3) and the Tigers struck first against the Stanford pitcher in the top of the second inning.

Zapotoczny led off the second with a single and after a sacrifice bunt by freshman Sydney Lahners,  a groundout by Steinmehl advanced Zapotoczny to third base.  Gustafson then reached on a missed catch error by the center fielder Cassandra Roulund that gave Pacific a 1-0 advantage.

Freshman catcher Rachel Sellers recorded her first career hit in the inning on a ball hit down the left field foul line. The Tigers added a run in the third inning on a Bourne RBI single, extending their early lead to 2-0.

Young, who worked out of jams in the first and second innings, got into trouble in the third inning as Stanford brought home a pair of runs to tie the contest. After Snyder held Pacific at bay in the top of the fourth, the Cardinal again rallied for five unearned runs in the bottom of the frame, aided by a pair of Tiger errors that extended the inning and made the scoreline 7-2 in favor of the hosts. 

Pacific started the top of the fifth with back-to-back singles from Bourne and Zapotoczny and loaded the bases but was unable to score. In the bottom of the fifth, The Cardinal used back-to-back triples from Leah White and Kayla Bonstrom to tack on two more runs, extending the lead to 9-5 against the new Pacific pitcher Gustafson, who moved from third base to the circle in the midst of the fourth.

Fighting to get back into the ballgame, The Tigers rallied for three in the sixth. Santos opened up the inning with an infield single and Anderson walked before Zapotoczny delivered a moonshot home run over the left field fence, her second of the season, cutting the Stanford advantage to 9-5.

After delivering a scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth, Gustafson led off the seventh with a double to left center and Sellers walked, but both were stranded as Snyder finished off the complete game victory as Pacific had to settle for a split.

On the day, Zapotoczny was 5-6 with a triple, home run and four RBI while Bourne went 3-8 with three RBI. Gustafson went 2-6 with a pair of doubles. As a team, Pacific had 19 hits, out-tallying both opponents.

Pacific wraps up play at the 2015 Stanford Nike Invitational on Sunday with a 9:00 am contest against No. 3/4 Alabama. Live stats and live audio for the contest will be available via PacificTigers.com

For the latest updates on the Pacific Softball program, follow @PacificSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.