SAN FRANCISCO – Dominican softball could not hold a seventh-inning lead and settled for a doubleheader split winning the first game 7-3 before a 5-4 loss to San Francisco State in the second game at SFSU Softball Field.
Annabelle Burke finished 2-for-5 scoring two runs and driving home one, while
Morgan Heggstrom hit her first career home run and finished with two RBI for the Penguins (17-17).
Taylor Rodriguez earned the victory in relief during the first game allowing two earned runs in 3.2 innings of work to move to 3-7 on the year.
Morgan Saucedo singled up the middle and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt.
Kelissa Lee spoiled any hope the Gators (18-19) had of escaping the inning as she turned on the first pitch she saw and singled to left with two outs to bring home the run for the 1-0 lead in the second. Burke reached on a fielding error in the third and beat a throw to second to allow
Payton Oas to reach safely as well with one out. A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position. Saucedo brought one run home on a soft grounder towards second but the ball got past the fielder on an error allowing Oas to cross the plate as well for the 3-0 lead.
The Gators finally got on the board as a fielder's choice brought home a runner from third in the bottom of the fourth, but Oas singled to left center and Heggstrom sent a ball over the fence in left-field in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 5-1.
Jadyn Magnuson and Saucedo each singled with runners on in the top of the sixth to push the lead to six and Dominican never felt in danger.
In the second game Dominican took leads in the second and seventh innings as an error allowed Lee to score the first run of the game.
Marina Medina and Burke singled in back-to-back at bats in the seventh to drive home three more runs and retake a 4-1 lead, but just as it looked like a sweep was in order SFSU struck back in the bottom of the seventh. An error put the first runner on the base paths and a double put two in scoring position. Olivia Mares singled on a bunt into a gap allowing two runs to score and close the gap to one. Dominican got a second out but Malia Morreira tied the game with a single to left and Shaunessy Cardwell doubled down the left-field line to walk off with a 5-4 victory.
Dominican will turn its attention back to conference play as it hosts Azusa Pacific for the first doubleheader of a four-game series Friday at Penguins Field with first pitch set for noon PDT.
