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Softball Sweeps on
Final Day of SoCal Smash |
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Box Score (Game 1) Competing at the SoCal Smash on Saturday, Cougar softball handily defeated Holy Names University 6-0 in the morning, and Southern Oregon 8-2 in the afternoon. The wins leave CSUSM with an impressive 3-1 record at the event, and 10-5 on the season. Rain delayed day two of the
Smash, which was originally scheduled for Friday.
The day two schedule was carried over to Saturday, which
prevented the Cougars from getting a shot at #2 Cal Baptist.
CSUSM fell 5-0 to the Lancers on day one of the tournament. But Coach Kelly Warren & Co.
will certainly take it, as the Cougars have now matched their win
total from all of last season. On Saturday, CSUSM opened the
day with a dominant pitching performance against Holy Names.
Chanel Rose started the game on the mound, and threw four
scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out
one. Brenna Sandberg
came on in relief and finished the game off with three hitless
innings, getting six of her nine outs on strikeouts. The Cougars got on the board in
the second innings, as Shanti Poston was hit by a pitch and Lise
Leibl singled. Lindsey
Preovolos then sacrificed them over, and Leilani Madrigal delivered
the RBI groundout. In what was a close game early,
CSUSM was able to give itself some breathing room in the fifth.
Nicolette Nassif singled with one out, then beat the throw to
second on an Erica Coelho grounder.
A walk to Melissa Lerno loaded the bases, and Marly Barth
crushed a huge bases-clearing double to left.
Lauren Nelson quickly plated Barth on an RBI single, putting
the Cougars up 5-0. In the seventh, Poston added the
final blow, drilling an RBI double to left center.
In the bottom of the inning, Sandberg struck out the final
two hitters to secure the 6-0 victory. The afternoon brought much of
the same story. Sandberg,
who started the game, was solid on the mound, allowing two runs in
five innings of work. She picked up the win. CSUSM wasted no time in jumping
all over Southern Oregon’s pitching, striking for four in the
first inning. Nassif got things going with a leadoff double, and Erica
Coelho singled her over then stole second.
A walk to Lerno loaded the bases, and for the second time in
as many opportunities, Marly Barth came through.
This time it was an RBI single, scoring the game’s first
run. Holly Russell then
tallied a sac fly, Poston knocked an RBI single, and Tasha Stokes
drove in the inning’s final run with another sac fly. Southern Oregon got its two runs
in the fourth on a Savannah Sanitoa home run, but an RBI double the
following inning by Barth kept the game from getting too close.
Lerno took over for Sandberg on the mound in the sixth, and
prevented any further runs. Lerno
also provided insurance at the plate in the seventh, doubling in a
pair of runs, then scoring herself on yet another RBI by Barth –
her sixth in the day’s two games. The 8-2 score would hold, and send the Cougars home
victorious. CSUSM will be back in action on February 26th, when they’ll travel to Point Loma to make up a game that was rained out last week.
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