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Saturday Hit Parade: Baseball Bashes Principia 24-3 |
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Box Score (Game One) Cougar softball showed a lot of mental toughness on Saturday, winning a pair of close games at the Sun West Tourney on Saturday. The Cougars defeated Williams College 6-5 in the morning, and beat Tufts University in the afternoon in walk-off fashion. Facing Williams College, CSUSM jumped out to an early lead, with Elizabeth Bush singling and eventually scoring on a wild pitch. But Williams got the run right back, setting in motion what turned out to be a very nip-and-tuck game throughout. Cougar starter Ashley Salvino was solid. She went the full seven innings, surrendering just two runs on five hits. Salvino limited her walks as usual, only allowing two while striking out seven. A Melissa Lerno double and Holly Russell RBI single gave the Cougars another lead in the fourth, but Williams once again got the run right back. The 2-2 tie persisted to the sixth, when the Cougars finally took the lead for good. Marly Barth led off the inning with a single, and Lerno sacrificed pinch runner Karen Morizi over. That brought Russell to the plate, and she delivered again, ripping an RBI double to left-center. Salvino did the rest, stranding base runners in the final two innings to preserve the win. Game two would be an even tougher test. Tufts jumped out to a big early lead off Cougar starter Chanel Rose. Heading into the third innings, CSUSM found itself down 4-0. Facing the early deficit, the Cougars would need to show mental toughness to overcome it - something the squad can be a little inconsistent with. But on Saturday CSUSM proved they can handle adversity. They cut the lead to 4-3 in the third, keyed by RBI singles from Barth and Tasha Stokes, as well as an RBI ground-out from Lerno. When Chapman extended the lead to 5-3 the following inning, Coach Kelly Warren called for Lerno to come in to hold the score at that. She did. Coming off an 11-strikeout no-hitter yesterday, Lerno allowed just three hits and no runs in closing out today's game. With Tufts' run supply cut off, it was up to the Cougar lineup to overcome the deficit and win the ballgame - and they did. CSUSM tied the game up in the fifth, with Barth and Lerno leading off the inning with walks and eventually coming around to score. The 5-5 tie persisted to the bottom of the seventh. Lauren Nelson started the game-winning rally with a base hit up the middle, and pinch runner Lise Leibl advanced to second on an error. Mimi Krutein sacrificed her to third, bringing Nicolette Nassif to the plate with a chance to win it. She came through, slapping a base hit that drove in Leibl and ended the game. Cougar softball will take its
20-9 record to USD on Thursday, looking to avenge a loss earlier
this month. |