STOCKTON, Calif. -- The Pacific softball team earned two wins Friday afternoon, defeating Idaho State and Seton Hall on the first day of the Libby Matson Tournament at Bill Simoni Field.
Pacific 6, Idaho State 0
The Tigers (5-11) jumped all over the Bengals (8-9) and starting pitcher Emma McMurray; scoring runs in the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. In the bottom half of the first inning, Rian Dirmeyer recorded her 19th hit of the season, an RBI single to left field, scoring Emily Budelli to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers tacked on another run shortly after in the second inning as Marissa Fabian scored on an error to extend the lead. Fabian finished the game tallying one hit and scored a career-high three runs. Through her first three seasons with the Tigers, Fabian has recorded 11 runs, with five coming in the first 17 games this season.
Pacific scored four more runs mid-way through the game, tallying two runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Errors were vital as the Bengals struggled to keep the Tigers off the basepath. Two errors in the bottom half of the fourth inning led to two runs as the Tigers gained a commanding 4-0 advantage. The win was solidified the next inning as Talissa Montez recorded her third-career RBI, a single back to the pitcher to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead. A fielding error punished the Bengals once again later in the inning as Fabian crossed home plate once again to finish the scoring.
Bethany Hammer was near perfect as she earned the start in the circle for the fourth time this season. Hammer pitched seven strong innings, allowing four hits, and stuck out seven batters. The redshirt senior from Placerville, Calif., earned her first win of the season and recorded her 144th career strikeout.
Pacific 5, Seton Hall 2
Vanessa Strong took the circle for the sixth time this season and recorded her best outing. The redshirt junior from Oakley, Calif. kept the Pirates (6-5) off the board throughout most of the game, not allowing a run until the top half of the sixth inning. Strong finished the game pitching all seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits, and tallied a season-high eight strikeouts.
The Tigers came out fast again as Carly Lucchetti tallied a two-out RBI single to right field, scoring Dirmeyer to give the Tigers an early 1-0 advantage. Lucchetti, who went one-for-four and scored a run, continues to lead the team with a .442 batting average.
With two runners on base in the third inning, Nina Davis recorded the first multi-RBI game of her career, tallying a two-RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Davis went one-for-two against the Pirates and is now seventh on the team in hits with nine.
Reagan Hamilton supplied the Tigers with another run in the next inning, recording an RBI single to right field, scoring Natalie Linker. Hamilton finished the game with two hits and tallied her third multi-hit game of the season. The sophomore from Taft, Calif., has 13 hits on the season, ranking fourth-best on the team.
Delaney Scully solidified the win with her second-career home run, a solo shot over the right-field fence to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
With the win over the Pirates, Head Coach Brian Kolze earned his 800th win as the Pacific softball coach. The winningest coach in softball history has accumulated an 800-735-2 record in 30 seasons with the team.
"I think the most important thing is that I know how much it meant to the team," Kolze stated after the game regarding his milestone. "The team turned it on after we won that first game today, but it is a tremendous accomplishment." "Winning 800 games is amazing, but it's even more amazing that I was able to do it all at one place, at the University of the Pacific."
Pacific returns to action Saturday, March 5, as the Tigers take on Nevada and Idaho State on the second day of the Libby Matson Tournament.
