Stockton, Calif. - On the final day of the Louisville Slugger Invitational, the Pacific Softball team dropped a 7-2 decision to Cal State Northridge, despite junior Nicole Zapotoczny slugging her seventh home run and second in as many days. Sophomore Cassidy Gustafson (2-6) took the loss as Pacific's record fell to 10-24 on the season. The game was played in front of a capacity crowd as the Tigers honored breast cancer survivors and raised funds and awareness to beat the disease on the annual "Pacific Plays Pink" day at Bill Simoni Field.

Gustafson matched up with Brianna Elder (10-3) of the Matadors. The CSUN offense went to work early against the Tiger starter, chipping a single run across the board in the first three frames to take an early 3-0 advantage. Gustafson then moved from the circle to left field, making her collegiate debut in the outfield as freshman Megan Walters took over pitching duties. Walters limited the damage in the third and pitched a scoreless frame in the top of the fourth, working around a pair of two-out singles.

Junior Melanie Habib led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single off of Elder and with one out, Zapotoczny launched a towering home run to left field, clanging off the light fixtures beyond the outfield fence and ricocheting back onto the playing field. The blast gave Pacific the momentum while cutting the lead to just 3-2 in favor of the Matadors. 

Walters again worked out of trouble in the fifth, as she was able to strand the bases loaded. Elder set down the Tigers with ease in the bottom of the fifth and in the top of the sixth CSUN added two insurance runs thanks to a Savannah Horvath triple and an RBI single from Ariana Wassmer, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. A Taylor Glover homer to right field in the top of the seventh tacked on two more for the Matadors, as CSUN took a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the inning.Elder shut the Pacific hitters down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending Pacific to defeat in the finale of the Louisville Slugger Invitational.

For Pacific, each of the top four hitters in the lineup recorded a hit, with freshman Molly Bourne's first inning double and Zapotoczny's home run representing the only extra-base hits. Walters recorded two strikeouts in her three innings of work and fellow freshman Marissa Young finished the game in relief for Pacific. Each pitcher surrendered two runs and walking one.

The Tigers return to action with a 4:00 pm contest at San Jose State on Wednesday before taking a weekend off from competition. Live Stats for the contest will be available via PacificTigers.com

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