SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican softball mounted comebacks in both games but fell short against Sonoma State falling 4-2 and 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon at Penguin Field.
Taylor Rodriguez went 2-for-6 with four RBI and a home run for the Penguins (16-14) to lead the offense, while
Hayley Gano went 2-for-3 in the first game.
Shelby Keltner had the best day in the circle for Dominican striking out 11 while allowing two earned runs in eight innings pitched.
Game one
The Seawolves (14-9) jumped ahead early as Rylee Nishimoto doubled to right center and Lauren Miritoni singled up the middle to bring her home for the 1-0 lead in the first. Anna Zoia-Buescher added another run to the lead in the third inning as she drew a walk, stole second and advanced to third on an error to lead off the inning. Nishimoto then hit a groundball to short and the throw home was not in time to get the Zoia-Buescher who gave SSU the 2-0 lead.
Keltner made life difficult for the Seawolves offense striking out at least one batter per inning for the rest of the game, but Dominican's offense continued to look for a breakthrough to cut into the lead.
Kate Tobola singled in the bottom of the sixth to put a runner on for Rodriguez with two outs. Rodriguez turned on the second pitch she saw and sent it over the left-field fence to tie the game 2-2 and give Dominican back some momentum.
After Keltner retired the side in the top of the seventh,
Alicia Garcia singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and despite a runner moving into scoring position with two outs, the Penguins could not get the walk-off hit they were looking for and the game headed to extra innings.
Gianna Hays doubled to drive in the placed runner to lead off the eighth and advanced to third on a flyout. Jocelyn Robles singled up the middle to bring her home for the 4-2 lead before Keltner caught a batter swinging for the final out of the inning. Dominican was unable to mount another comeback in the bottom of the frame as the Seawolves held their lead.
Game two
The Penguins got off to a stronger start in the second game as they got their first two runners on the base but Hays was able to make the chase down grab of a looping ball towards second and flip the ball with her glove to the shortstop for a double play to end the threat. The pitchers continued to dominate until Zoia-Buescher doubled home the first run of the game in the top of the fifth and Hays brought in two more with a double to right field to make it 3-0.
Dominican looked to cut into the lead in the bottom of the frame as it put runners on the corners with one out, but once again the Seawolves defense came up with a clutch double play to prevent a run from crossing.
After SSU added two more runs to its lead in the top of the sixth, a fielding error and a walk put the first two Penguins on to lead off the bottom of the sixth.
Kelissa Lee singled through the left side to load the bases and give Dominican its first hit of the game. Rodriguez delivered once again with runners in scoring position as she singled up the middle to score two, but that was all the Penguins could manage as the comeback fell short.
Dominican will head next to the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State beginning play Friday with games against San Francisco State and Cal State San Bernardino at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
