May 4, 2001
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Santa Clara softball team took Cal Poly to extra innings twice, but was unable to generate any offense as the Mustangs took each game of the doubleheader by a 1-0 score tonight at the Cal Poly Sports Complex. Santa Clara falls to 14-35 on the season while Cal Poly evens its record to 27-27.
After a nine-day break, Santa Clara returned to the field and opened strong, with a lead-off single by junior outfielder Sydney Wiginton. She advanced to third with only one out on the scoreboard, but the Broncos could not bring her in.
Senior outfielder Jayne Whitney singled in the third inning and stole second to put herself in scoring position, but with two outs already recorded, did not reach home. The Broncos final hit of the opener was a two-out single by freshman third baseman Vanessa Werner in the sixth.
Cal Poly had only recorded one hit prior to that, a single in the first. Kasey Poet added a two-out double for the Mustangs in the seventh, but it was Cal Poly's two hits in the eighth inning that earned the 1-0 victory. With the two outs recorded and the bases loaded, right fielder Christie Wells singled to right field for the winning RBI.
The half-inning began with center fielder Gemma Dalena's one-out single to left field, which advanced pinch runner Kaitlyn Wilson to second. Her batter, catcher Michelle Uithoven, reached first on a passed ball. Left fielder Nicole Dansby loaded the bases when she reached on a fielder's choice. Dalena crossed home on Wells' hit.
Junior pitcher Deanna Rodriguez moved to 6-18 on the season with the loss while Terra Blankenbecler improved to 16-10 with the win.
The Mustangs scattered 11 hits in the second game over 12 innings. SCU registered only four hits, with two by junior first baseman Kristi Harrington and one each by Wiginton and Werner. Bronco senior pitcher Krista Barry threw a complete game, falling to 8-16 this season. Mustang Kristin Murray earned her first win of the season and is now 1-6.
Dansby led off the 12th with a single to left field and advanced to second on Wells' sacrifice bunt. Third baseman Jackie Wayland recorded her third hit of the game, a double that brought in Dansby and ended the nearly-three-hour contest.
The Broncos close out the regular and conference seasons at Saint Mary's on Sunday. The first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. in Moraga. Santa Clara will then head to Los Angeles for the WISL Tournament May 11-13.
