STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific softball team split two games on the second day of the Mizuno Classic, falling in extra innings to Marist and then earning a non-conference win against Iowa State at Bill Simoni Field.
Marist 6, Pacific 5 (nine innings)
The Tigers came out of the gate fast, tallying runs in the first three innings of play. In the first inning, a fielding error plated the game's first run as Rian Dirmeyer recorded her team-leading 15th run to put the Tigers ahead, 1-0. Shortly after, Carly Lucchetti scored to double the lead as she raced to the plate from third base to tally her 10th stolen base of the season. Nina Davis added the third run of the inning on an RBI single as her RBI single through the right side of the infield put the Tigers up 3-0.
Pacific tallied runs in the second and third innings and began to pull away. With Dirmeyer in scoring position on third base, Lucchetti's RBI groundout extended the lead to 4-0, and Davis punched a solo home run over the left-field fence in the fourth inning for the fifth run of the game. Davis, who finished the game with one hit and a walk, recorded her first-career home run to increase the Tigers' season total to nine.
The Red Foxes (10-13) rallied and scored five unanswered runs to tie the game in the sixth inning. Marist eventually scored the winning run in the top half of the ninth inning to solidify the come from behind victory.
Pacific 4, Iowa State 3
Pacific fell behind early as the Cyclones (17-10) took an early 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. The Tigers rallied in the bottom half of the inning and took the lead due to an RBI double from Reagan Hamilton. After a walk and a Lucchetti single, Hamilton sent a shot to left field, scoring two runs, as the Tigers took a 2-1 lead. Hamilton, who recorded her seventh extra-base hit of the season, finished the game with a season-high three RBI as she went two-for-four to increase her batting average to .264.
The Tigers added a third run to the board the next inning as Dirmeyer recorded her game's first hit. With runners in scoring position, Kyla Eck came around to score on Dirmeyer's RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1.
Despite the Cyclones scoring two unanswered runs in the top half of the seventh inning to tie the game at three, Hamilton tallied a walk-off single to left field, scoring Emily Budelli in the bottom half of the seventh inning to earn the win.
"I'm proud of how the bullpen came in and did their job," Head Coach Brian Kolze stated regarding the walk-off win. "Iowa State never threatened until we let them, and that's something our team needs to realize … we can't let teams hang around." "I'm proud that we got three hits and a sacrifice bunt down in the seventh inning and we sis a great job getting a clutch to walk it off."
Pacific returns to action on Saturday, March 19, as the Tigers finish off the Mizuno Classic with matchups against Marist and Sacramento State.
