Tough First Day at So-Cal Smash for Softball
February 22, 2007

Complete Box Scores »» vs. Cal Baptist     vs. Dixie State

It was a rocky start for Cougar softball at the So-Cal Smash, as the squad lost 14-8 to #1 Cal Baptist and 3-0 to Dixie State. The squad will play five more games during the next three days at the event, which is hosted by Cal Baptist.

Facing the top-ranked team in the country, the inaugural Cougars' squad was greeted rudely with an 8-run first inning. CSUSM ace Melissa Lerno got the first out, but a single followed by a Nikki Lowe home run made the game 2-0. The Lancers kept the heat on, as the next five hitters reached base. After third baseman Amanda Sanchez cut down a run at the plate, a single drove in another run, and an error prolonged the inning, allowing the seventh and eighth runs to cross the plate.

With such a large lead early, the rest of the game was more or less academic. Lancers' starter Candice Thomas was on cruise control, not allowing a hit in her three innings of work. Cal Baptist would push the lead 13-0 by the fourth inning, but the Cougars did manage a bit of a comeback. Holly Russell and Tasha Stokes walked to leadoff the fourth, Sanchez brought them in with a home run. Then in the fifth, the Cougars added three more runs, with Sanchez and Stokes tallying RBI's. On the day, Sanchez was 1-for-3 with a career-high 4 RBI.

Despite the comeback, the Lancers would easily hold on for the 14-6 victory, and the game was called after five innings.

Game two was a much closer contest, as the Cougar squad hung in there against Dixie State in what was a pitchers' duel. Lerno and opposing starter Ashlee Olson got the game started with a scoreless first two innings, but Dixie State would get on the board in the bottom of the third. A pair of singles started off the inning, and after the runners were sacrificed over, both runs would come home on a single by Amy Gleicher.

Meanwhile, CSUSM struggled to produce any offense against Olson. It certainly wasn't for lack of opportunity. In the first, sixth, and seventh innings, the squad had a runner on third with less than two outs. And in all three cases, that runner was left stranded. Indeed, situational hitting was the main difference between the teams on Thursday, and unfortunately for the Cougars, Dixie State was the one that came through in the clutch.

The losses drop CSUSM to 1-10 in its inaugural season. They'll have another shot tomorrow, as the team will play against Southern Oregon and get another shot at #1 Cal Baptist.