SAN RAFAEL, Calif.- Dominican women's softball fell behind early in both games of the doubleheader against No. 3 ranked Concordia University Irvine, falling 0-6 in the first game, and 18-6 in the second game.
Game 1
Dominican's hitting woes continued into their series against Concordia (15-1, 6-0 PacWest), as the Eagles' starting pitcher Callie Nunes completed a one-run performance, leading Concordia to a 6-run victory. Although Nunes allowed seven walks, the Eagles' defense held runners from crossing home plate.
Concordia's Mackenzie Graham finished the game going 2-for-4 with 4 RBI. Two runs came across during Amanda Gjertsen's two-hit performance, while Megan Massa went 2-for-2 with one RBI.
The Penguins' starting pitcher,
Kathryn Caravalho pitched 3.1 innings and was handed the loss, while giving up six hits and three earned runs.
Peyton Mott earned Dominican's (3-4, 2-4 PacWest) only hit of the game, and finished the day going 1-for-2 with a walk.
The Eagles ran to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Gjertsen doubled down the left field line, and Graham doubled to left field to bring in Gjertsen and Dix. Caravalho forced Thorpe to fly out to get out of the jam and end the inning.
The Eagles persisted in the top of the second as Lopez began a rally with a single up the middle, and stole second to move into scoring position with just one out. Penguin first baseman
Mady Christensen made a diving catch in front of the plate to keep Nonora off the bases, but Massa made up for the out by doubling to bring in Lopez for a 3-0 lead. In the top of the third inning, Sprinkle drilled a fly ball into deep center field, but Schumacher ran it down to make a spectacular leaping catch at the fence for the third out of the inning.
Both teams remained scoreless until the top of the seventh when pinch hitter, Lieng crushed a homer to extend Concordia's lead to 4-0. Massa, Gjertsen and Sprinkle kept the momentum rolling for the Eagles with three straight singles to load the bases. Graham doubled to score Gjertsen and Massa to take the 6-0 lead.
Game 2
Concordia continued their offensive dominance well into the second game. Gjertsen continued her hot streak, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI and coming around to score twice. Massa didn't skip a beat, going 3-for-5 and recording 3 RBI. Erika Morris earned her second win of the season, pitching 3.1 innings, while giving up three hits and two runs.
Starting pitcher for the Penguins,
Rosa Leguria earned the start for DU, but gave up ten runs off eight hits in the process.
Haley Cheek recorded 2 RBI while going 1-for-3, and
Peyton Mott and
Alyssa Waltman each finished the game with a 2-for-3 outing, but it wasn't enough to keep within distance of the Eagles.
Concordia advanced to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as a double to right center from Lieng brought Graham and Sprinkle in to score. After holding the Penguins scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, the Eagles came right back to score three more in the top of the second with a two-run homer by Gjertsen to climb to a 5-0 lead.
The Penguins rallied back in the bottom of the second as Waltman doubled, and with two outs, Christensen singled to score Waltman and Cheek. Reyes kept the rally alive, doubling to center to bring around Christensen to cut the deficit to 3-5. In the next at-bat, Mott singled through the left side, and Dennis followed with a double of her own to score Reyes from second to help the Penguins come within just one of the Eagles.
A big inning from the Penguins seemed hopeful, but the one run was as close as they would come from breaking even with Concordia. In the top of the fourth inning, the Eagles recorded six hits and five walks to extend their lead to 14-4 leading into the bottom half of the inning. The Penguins responded with two runs off of a double to left center from Cheek to drive in Dennis and Mott, but couldn't string together enough hits to make a comeback, as Concordia returned in the top of the fifth with four more batted in.
The Penguins will travel to Hawai'i next week to face the University of Hawai'i at Hilo on March 5th at Noon, HST. Live video and stats will be available online.
