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Softball Nearly Knocks Off
USD; Loses 4-3 Heartbreaker |
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Cougar softball was within one inning of a sweet road win over the University of San Diego on Saturday, but a sixth-inning rally left the team with a sour 4-3 loss. For the first-year CSUSM softball program, a victory over a Division I opponent like USD would have been a signature win for the program. And for nearly all Saturday afternoon, it looked like it was going to happen. The first three innings of the game were scoreless, as Cougar ace Melissa Lerno and USD starter Jennifer Ellenbeck kept the offenses off the board. The Cougars missed a big chance in the second, as a leadoff walk to Tasha Stokes and singles by Elizabeth Bush and Amanda Sanchez loaded the bases with no outs. But Ellenbeck worked out of it, getting a couple groundouts and a strikeout to escape the inning. CSUSM would finally break the scoreless tie in the fourth. Stokes, Bush, and Sanchez would once again load the bases with no outs, this time on three singles. After a foul out, a wacky play that involved errors by both the shortstop and catcher allowed two runs to cross the plate, giving CSUSM a 2-0 lead. USD loaded the bases in their half of the fourth, but Lerno once again got out of it without allowing a run. After an uneventful fifth, CSUSM extended its lead to 3-0, as Amanda Sanchez doubled in Elizabeth Bush, who had reached on an error. Things were looking good for the Cougars entering the sixth, but then the wheels came off. A leadoff single greeted Lerno, and the next batter reached on a fielder's choice that failed to record any outs. A sac bunt moved the runners over, and a walk loaded the bases for Alicia Massei. She would deliver an RBI single to right, making the game 3-1. That was followed by another single to make it 3-2. The Cougars were able to record the second out when Stokes cut down the runner heading home, giving CSUSM hope of holding the lead through the inning. But in the following at-bat, a costly error by the Cougars would allow the tying run to cross the plate, and a single plated the go-ahead run. On the play, centerfielder Danielle Tucker was able to limit the damage by throwing out the second runner trying to come home; but it was too little too late, as the Cougars couldn't mount a comeback in the 7th and lost by that 4-3 score. Despite the difficult loss, the Cougars have been playing better softball lately, and certainly gave USD all they could handle on Saturday. Given that less than a month ago this same match-up produced an 8-0 USD mercy rule win, and it's safe to say that Cougar softball is showing plenty of improvement. The team will be back at home on March 17th to take on Point Loma. Game one starts at noon, so come out to Mission Hills High and support the team! |