Stockton, Calif. - On the first day of the Libby Matson Tournament, the Pacific softball team earned a split with a record-setting offensive performance against CSU Bakersfield, blasting past the Roadrunners by a 10-1 final. Pacific dropped the first game of the day, against Purdue, by a 7-1 tally. Pacific sits at 6-6 on the season thus far after the first day of action at the Tigers' host tournament.

Game Two

In the second contest of the day, Pacific wasted no time getting to work offensively after sophomore Marissa Young (3-2) delivered a scoreless frame in the top of the first inning, setting the stage for the offense with a 1-2-3 frame.

After senior Sara Anderson singled to open up the inning, junior Haylee Moran-Rowen singled on a bunt, advancing Anderson into scoring position. The third hitter of the game, senior Nicole Zapotoczny, launched a homer over the left field seats, plating three RBI in the process. With two out, sophomore Rachel Sellers, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, connected on a drive of her own to left field, putting Pacific up 4-0 with the Orange and Black's second homer of the inning. Cassidy Gustafson came up next, driving a screamer to center field that cleared the fence for Pacific's third home run of the season, a program first. The blast chased Bakersfield hurler Sydney Raeber (2-1) from the contest, as Alyssa Stockton took over in the circle.

Pitching with a five-run cushion, Young worked around a pair of singles, leaning on her defense for a double play as Zapotoczny caught a liner and fired to sophomore Sydney Lahners at first base to end the threat.

Pacific went back to work in the second as Anderson and Moran-Rowen reached on consecutive infield singles. After a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position, Lahners singled down the left field line, driving in a pair and giving the hosts a 7-0 lead.

After Stockton and Young swapped scoreless frame in the third, Young made quick work of the Roadrunners in the fourth, setting the stage for one final offensive salvo from Pacific. Zapotoczny roped a double into the right-center field gap to start the inning and Lahners singled down the right field line, putting runners on the corners with no out. After Stockton recovered to induce two pop-outs, Gustafson stepped up and drove a blast to right field, picking up 3 RBI while becoming the first tiger since Sellers on April 10 of 2015 to slug two homers in a single contest.

Young, now pitching with a ten run cushion, allowed a run in the fifth, but worked out of a two-on, two-out situation to finish the run-rule shortened win.

Pacific registered four home runs in a contest for the first time, and came just short of the program record of five home runs set last April 10 at Brigham Young.

Pacific's three-homer frame was a program first, as Zapotoczny, Sellers and Gustafson etcheded their mark in the Pacific record book in the opening inning.

Young finished with just one strikeout, the opening batter of the game, but surrendered just four hits, walking two.

Game One

In the first contest of the day, Pacific fell to Purdue as a six-run sixth inning rally sunk the Tigers. Pacific and starter Gustafson (2-1) fell behind in the second inning as the Boilermakers used a pair of singles to take a 1-0 advantage.

Pacific responded against Purdue starter Maddie Damon (2-1) in the fourth as a Lahners single and a Gustafson sacrifice fly tied the scoreline at 1-1.

Gustafson and Damon held the opposing lineups scoreless in the fifth before a Purdue rally in the sixth inning plated six runs. Kristen Hoppman was hit by a pitch and stole second before a Paris Andrew groundout advanced Hoppman to third base. The next hitter, Heather Knight, singled up the middle, scoring Hoppman for a 2-1 advantage. Damon then singled, advancing Knight to second. Maya Hughes followed with a single to center that got by Anderson. The error cleared the bases, allowing Hughes to also come in to score for a 6-1 lead. After Megan Walters took over in the circle, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Katie Harrison drove in a seventh run.

Pacific mustered a two-out double off the bat of Sellers in the bottom of the sixth and a leadoff single from Habib in the seventh, but Damon finished off the win.

Habib registered a two-hit performance in the contest. From the circle, Gustafson struck out three and Walters tallied two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of relief.


Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 12:15 again against CSU Bakersfield. The Tigers will also play at 4:45 pm against Purdue. Live video and stat broadcasts will be available via PacificTigers.com.

For the latest on the Pacific Softball program, fans are encouraged to visit @PacificSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.

The 2016 Libby Matson Tournament central can be accessed here.