FRESNO, Calif. - The Pacific softball team pulled off two victories in their first day at the Fresno State Bulldog Classic on Friday. The Tigers won 8-3 against CSU Bakersfield and used a late inning push to beat UC Davis, 9-6. The Orange and Black hand the Aggies (3-4) their second straight loss, moving to 5-2 while Bakersfield drops to 0-7. 

Pacific vs. Bakersfield

The Tigers opened up their game against Bakersfield with a 4-0 lead in the first inning as Caitlyn Sung singled to left center for a 2 RBI shot, bringing home Bradi Kooyman and Samantha Owen. Pacific had four of it's 12 hits in the first and used that to their advantage. 

Marissa Young had a strong outing in the circle for her third start of the season pitching a complete game and finishing with two earned runs and three strikeouts. 

"Marissa battled all day and got us the innings we needed to win the game," said Head Coach Brian Kolze. "We still need to do a better job defensively to make it easier on our pitchers but overall we did well."

The Tigers made three errors in their game, one of which accounted for a run in the third innning. 

The Roadrunners scored one run in the third and fourth inning, but Pacific responded in the bottom of the fourth as Sydney Lahners and Owen each hit an RBI single to put her team  back up by four, 6-2.

Lahners also homered in the sixth inning, sending a shot to left field for her fourth home run of the year. The senior infielder finished the game with three hits and three RBI. 

Talli Shepherd had an impressive day at bat for the Orange and Black. The freshman matched Lahners with three hits, one RBI, and one scored run on the day. Shepherd also tallied in her first stolen base.

"Obviously we had a great day at the plate," said Kolze. "[Syd] getting a home run and Talli setting the table allowed the offense to flow and got everyone involved."

The Tigers will face off against Bakersfield again tomorrow, with a game at 11:30 AM. 

Pacific vs. UC Davis

In their second game of the afternoon, the Tigers battled it out against their Big West opponent, UC Davis, for a late 9-6 victory.

Lahners registered her second home run of the day in the first inning off a two-run shot to left field to start Pacific off on a good note, up 2-0. 

A Megan Fields' triple to right field brought home Sung for the Orange and Black in the second. The Tigers also loaded the bases in the third as Rachel Sellers followed it up with a walk, bringing home another run to give them a 4-1 cushion.

The Tigers scored one run in each of the following three innings but Davis had a three-run push in the third inning followed up by two more runs in the fourth to retake the lead, 6-5.

With Davis still clinging on to a one-run advantage in the sixth, Lahners shot another ball to left center which brought home Shepherd for her third home run of the day. Sellers then doubled to left center, scoring Ralene Estrada and Owens for a two-RBI score. This put the Tigers back on top, 9-6, carrying the lead through the seventh inning for the victory.

"I couldn't be prouder of how we battled back in the second game to get the win," Kolze said. "We found a way to score all nine runs with two outs."

Pacific moves on to day two of the Bulldog Classic, facing off against Bakersfield at 11:30 and hosts Fresno State at 5:00 PM.