March 2, 2008

Box Score

Fullerton, Calif. - Behind another dominant effort in the circle by junior Chelsea Engle (Folsom, Calif.), the Pacific softball team cruised to a 6-0 win over Loyola Chicago on Sunday, March 2. The win ended Pacific's Worth Invitational tournament at 3-2 on the weekend and moved the team to 8-11 on the year while the Ramblers dropped to 2-7 on the season.

With their ace in the circle, the Tigers put together a solid effort at the plate, playing both small ball when called upon and bring out the big bats at times.

In the first inning, the Tigers got off to a fast start, taking advantage of an error at short to get their leadoff hitter on first. With the gift given, freshman Lindsey Pierce (Camarillo, Calif.) made the damage worse, stealing second on the first pitch of the next at bat. Junior Casey Goldsand (Scottsdale, Ariz.) put two runners on base to leadoff the game for Pacific with an infield single to the leftside, beating out the slap without a throw.

After a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt by junior Lauren Weyman (Carlsbad, Calif.) moved the runners to second and third, sophomore Kellee Wilson (Tracy, Calif.) sacrificed her at bat with a fly to leftfield that was deep enough to score Pierce from third.

Pacific tacked on a second run in the third inning, once again taking advantage of their leadoff hitter reaching base to plate the run. Goldsand led the inning off with a bunt single directly in front of the plate and then moved into scoring position on the second straight sacrifice bunt by Weyman. With Goldsand standing at second, Wilson came through for the second time in the game, this time lacing a double down the leftfield line to pick up her second RBI on the day.

Already up all the runs they would need with Engle in the circle, Pacific posted four more insurance runs for their junior pitcher, scoring three in the fifth and a single run in the sixth to post six runs in the game. In the third, a pair of errors gave the Tigers their first run of the inning as Goldsand and Wilson took advantage of a the defensive miscues to score the first run of the inning. After the theatrics in the field prolonged the inning, senior Alyce Jorgensen (Los Altos, Calif.) made the Ramblers pay once again, blasting her fourth homerun of the season over the centerfield wall to put two more runs on the board for Pacific.

In the sixth, three consecutive singles to open the inning, starting off with an infield single by senior Lauren Sandelin (Sedro-Woolley, Wash.), pieced together the run for the Tigers. Goldsand continued her dominant day at the plate, ending the three single streak with an RBI single through the leftside that scored Sandelin.

With her offense handing her six runs throughout the game, Engle pitched another dominant outing, striking out seven in seven innings of work. The Ramblers were able to scatter five hits against Engle throughout the afternoon, but were unable to do any damage as Engle pitched her way out of jams in the first and fourth innings when Loyola Chicago put runners at second and third, but could not score. The win moved Engle to 6-4 on the year and a perfect 3-0 at the Worth Invitational.

At the plate, Goldsand led the way for the Tigers, posting three of Pacific's 11 hits in the game. Perfect at the plate, Goldsand tallied two runs and an RBI in the win as well. Hickman finished her afternoon with two hits in three at bats while Sandelin showed her prowess at the plate with a 2-for-3 showing as well.

Pacific will be back in action on Wednesday, March 5 as they host Boston College afor a single game at 2:00 pm. On Friday, March 7 the Tigers travel to Tempe, Ariz. To take part in the Diamond Devil Invitational hosted by Arizona State.