SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's softball ran off to early leads in both games, but could not contain San Francisco State's offense in 8-6 and 10-5 losses Monday afternoon at Penguin Field.
Despite the sweep, freshman outfielder
Peyton Mott helped the Penguins (8-31) find their rhythm offensively in game one, going 3-for-7 with a walk and a 2-run home run. Senior infielder
Dahlen Dennis added two hits with two RBI in the first game. Junior outfielder
McKenzie Schumacher continued her hot streak from the plate in game two, going 2-for-4 with a 2-run triple. Senior utility
Karitza Reyes notched a 2-for-3 performance in game two, with two hits and a run.
Brylynn Vallejos powered the Gators' (33-16) offense, going 6-for-9 on the day with three RBI and with two runs. Sydney Jenkins chipped in a 4-for-7 afternoon with three runs and an RBI.
Game One
The Penguins took the lead early as Dennis sent a liner down the right field line with the bases loaded to bring home Mott and Schumacher in the bottom of the first to give Dominican the 2-0 lead. Ramirez followed suit, crushing a double to left center to score
Haley Cheek for the three-run advantage.
The Gators responded in the top of the second as Samantha Alvarez doubled to right center to score Lehua DeLeon all the way from first base. With the bases loaded, Hayley Nunez was hit by a pitch to bring home Alvarez and cut Dominican's lead to one. Freshman pitcher
Rosa Leguria escaped the inning by forcing Michelle Castro to hit into a fielder's choice and Nina Revoir to fly out to Schumacher in center field to keep the Penguins in the lead.
Dominican quickly extended the lead back to three as junior infielder
Mady Christensen sent a 2-run home run out of left center in the bottom of the second to make it 5-2.
In the top of the third, Katelyn Sturm hit a bouncer up the middle to single and an errant throw that ended up in the visiting dugout advanced her to third on the play. DeLeon flew out to left to bring her home and trim the lead to 5-3.
SF State tied the game 5-5 in the top of the fourth as Castro doubled to left center with the bases loaded, bringing around Vallejos and Jenkins.
Kathryn Caravalho entered in relief, but a passed ball allowed Nunes to score and give the Gators the 6-5 lead.
Vallejos singled through the left side in the top of the fifth to bring home DeLeon for SFSU and extend the lead to 7-5. Cheek walked and Mott and Dennis singled to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the frame to give some momentum back to the Penguins. Chinchilla then singled to left to cap the rally and cut the deficit to 7-6. SFSU added an insurance run in the top of the sixth and held Dominican scoreless in the final two frames to secure the victory.
Game Two
Mott got the Penguins on the board first, sending an inside pitch over the left field fence for a 2-run jack in the bottom of the first. Dominican continued to roll in the bottom of the second as three straight singles from Ramirez, Chinchilla and Reyes loaded the bases and Christensen singled to left to make extend the lead to three. Schumacher doubled to center to keep the rally going and bring home Reyes and Chinchilla for the 5-0 lead.
The Gators took control of the game at the plate and in the field from there. Sturn sparked the SFSU bats in the top of the fourth with a solo shot to left. The Gators then tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth as Vallejos doubled to center field to score one and Sydney Jenkins came home on a ground out up the middle. Castro then sent a 2-run homer to left center for the equalizer.
Alvarez hit a 2-run double to right center in the top of the sixth to give SFSU a 7-5 lead. Jenkins followed by knocking a triple down the right field line that scored Marielena Torres, and Vallejos singled to right field to extend the lead to four. The Gators tacked on one more in the top of the seventh to earn the sweep on the day.
The Penguins will travel to Notre Dame de Namur on Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. PDT. Live stats will be available online.
