STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific softball team split a pair of West Coast Conference games Saturday afternoon, earning a win in the second game of the doubleheader against Santa Clara at Bill Simoni Field
Santa Clara 8, Pacific 2
The Tigers (11-25, 1-1) jumped ahead in the bottom half of the first frame after keeping the Broncos (15-22, 1-1) off the board. In the inning, Reagan Hamilton provided the offense, powering a two-RBI single to right-center field, scoring Carly Lucchetti and Rian Dirmeyer to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead. With the lone RBI credited to Hamilton, the sophomore from Taft, Calif., increased her team-leading season total to 24.
Santa Clara bounced back the following inning, scoring three runs to regain the lead. The Broncos scored five more unanswered runs and kept the Tigers off the board for the remainder of the game.
Pacific 9, Santa Clara 3
The Tigers bounced back in the second game of the doubleheader despite the Broncos jumping out to an early lead. Trailing 3-0 in the third inning, the Tigers gained momentum in the bottom half of the inning and scored five runs to take a 5-3 lead. After a bases-loaded walk plated the Tigers' first run of the game, Bethany Hammer tied the game at three shortly after on a two-RBI double off the right-field fence. Hammer had a career game at the plate, recording four hits, two RBI, and scoring two runs. The redshirt senior from Placerville, Calif., who had 12 hits in five seasons with the team coming into the second game of the doubleheader, recorded the first-ever multi-hit game of her career.
Delaney Scully capped off the inning with a two-run RBI double to give the Tigers the lead as Hammer plated the go-ahead run. Scully has become an offensive force for the Tigers, recording six hits in the past four games, including adding two hits and a team-leading four RBI in the winning effort over the Broncos.
Pacific continued to pile on runs throughout the rest of the game, adding two runs in both the fourth and sixth innings. Natalie Linker recorded an RBI single in the fourth inning, while Emily Budelli tallied the seventh run on a Hamilton RBI fly-out. Budelli was also perfect at the plate, recording three hits and a walk in four plate appearances. The freshman from Gilroy, Calif., recorded her 11th multi-hit game this season, increasing her batting average to .325, which ranks 13th in the West Coast Conference.
Scully capped off a dominant performance in the sixth inning, recording her second two-run double of the game as Hammer and Talissa Montez scored to push the lead to 9-3.
Amiyah Aponte was tremendous in her ninth start in the circle this season, pitching seven solid innings and allowing three runs on three hits while keeping the Broncos off the board in the game's final three innings. The sophomore from Riverside, Calif., lowered her earned-run average to 2.95 and now ranks seventh in the West Coast Conference in that category.
"She's [Aponte] been proving herself even after a rough inning," Head Coach Brian Kolze stated regarding Aponte's performance. "She told me she was good and wanted to continue, and she ended up pitching better in the second half of the game."
Pacific returns to action on Sunday, April 10, as the Tigers wrap up the three-game series against Santa Clara. The first pitch at Bill Simoni Field is scheduled for noon.
